


What If

by Schnurble



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Animagus, Canon Compliant, Death Eaters, Gen, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Leprechauns, Potions Accident, Snape's Worst Memory, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:48:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27590243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schnurble/pseuds/Schnurble
Summary: Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true!- Aesop's FablesSeverus Snape learns this the hard way when he makes a wish that has dire consequences.The Archive Warnings "Rape/Non-Con" and "Underage" are only mentioned/implied, but to be on the safe side, I ticked them anyway.
Relationships: Lily Evans/Severus Snape (mentioned)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. A Day From Hell

_(April 1996)_

While keeping half an eye on the class of fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors attempting to brew Hair-Raising Potion, Severus marked homework essays from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff about the same subject. He didn't like to divide his attention, but because of another Occlumency lesson with Harry Potter, he wouldn't have time for the essays in the evening. He had chosen a potion that was neither dangerous nor hard to make, hoping the students would be able to manage on their own. This should give him a small breather and allow him to concentrate on grading homework papers. 

A sweet fragrance suddenly filled his nostrils. Severus suppressed the urge to deeply inhale through his nose in order to discern the scent more clearly. An unexpected smell in a Potions lesson was never a good sign. He rather held his breath and looked around in search for its source. 

His gaze stopped at Neville Longbottom, who was bent over his cauldron, apparently sniffing the fumes that emanated from it. Obviously, he had botched his potion - again. Whatever he had concocted, it definitely wasn't Hair-Raising Potion. 

"LONGBOTTOM!" Severus thundered. 

For once, the boy didn't jump at being addressed by the Potions master. He didn't react at all. Upon closer inspection, Severus realized that Neville Longbottom was frozen stiff. Apparently, after getting a good noseful of the vapours coming out of his cauldron, he had been Petrified. 

The other students, looking up to see what had prompted their Professor to shout at Neville Longbottom, now noticed the sweet aroma as well. Some started to curiously sniff the air. 

"Hold your breath!" Severus hissed, trying to limit his breathing as much as possible. "Unless, of course, you aspire to get Petrified." 

He didn't wait to see whether they followed his orders. Instead, he used a Scouring Charm to vanish the cauldron's dangerous contents. With a swirl of his wand, he created a draught that vented the sweet smell out of the classroom. After dismissing the class ten minutes early, he levitated Longbottom's stiff body to the hospital wing. 

* * *

The Potions accident turned out to be just the prelude to a series of unpleasant events throughout the day. 

After leaving Neville Longbottom in Madam Pomfrey's care, Severus informed Minerva McGonagall about the incident. She was not only the head of Longbottom's House; she was also the person most skilled at Transfigurations he knew. If someone could successfully cast a spell that would turn Longbottom from a statue back into a breathing, walking disaster, it was her. 

Severus didn't wait for the outcome of her efforts. Hurrying to his next lesson, he also didn't waste any time with informing the new Headmistress Dolores Umbridge. He severely doubted that she could be of any help. After all, she had been hopelessly overwhelmed by the fireworks that some students had released the day before, and some of which were still roaming Hogwarts grounds. 

In the afternoon, just after he had dismissed his last class of the day, Poppy Pomfrey entered his classroom. She informed him that Minerva McGonagall had had no luck with restoring Neville Longbottom. The matron asked him to make a Mandrake Restorative Draught now, the potion that had worked so well with the students Petrified by the basilisk. 

So, instead of grading the last homework essays, he went to find Pomona Sprout and fetch a bunch of Mandrake roots. But before he reached the greenhouses, he felt a summons by the Dark Lord. He turned on his heels and hurried down the lane leading towards a pair of large double iron gates. As soon as he had passed the tall pillars on either side of the gates, each topped with a winged boar, he Disapparated. 

The Dark Lord already knew about the accident in Severus' Potions class. An image of Draco Malfoy telling his family right after the lesson, gloating at the Gryffindor's mishap, sprang to his mind. Lucius had doubtlessly been quick on recognizing its ramifications, and urgently had relayed the news to the Dark Lord. 

And now, he, Severus, had to explain to a very displeased Dark Lord why a student happened to create a powerful weapon right under Severus' nose, with him neglecting to inform his master about it. 

The Dark Lord wouldn't hear any of Severus's excuses - that he had no idea what Longbottom had done to create this potion, that there was nothing left of it anyway, or that it wasn't very useful as a weapon because a simple _'Petrificus Totalus'_ served the same purpose and was easier to revoke. Severus needed all of his creativity to appease his Lord. In the end, the Dark Lord dismissed him, but only after he had put him under the obligation to find out how to recreate the Petrifying potion. 

Severus managed to return to Hogwarts with five minutes to spare before Potter would show up in his office for another, most likely fruitless, Occlumency lesson. And once more, unforeseen events messed up his schedule. 

Before the lesson could even start, Draco Malfoy burst in and called him away. Graham Montague, whom no one had seen since the previous day, had finally turned up again, stuck in a toilet on the fourth floor. To no one's surprise, Dolores Umbridge hadn't been able to get him out there by herself. 

Severus extricated the Slytherin Quidditch captain from his tight spot with ease. To figure out from the boy's incoherent babbling what had happened to him proved to be a challenge, though. So, for the second time today, Severus took a student to the hospital wing. Hopefully, Madam Pomfrey would be able to do something about Montague's disoriented state. 

"Another one?" he was greeted by a wearily sighing matron. She was tending to a student lying on a bed, rigid as a board. Severus noticed immediately that this student was not Neville Longbottom. 

"Minerva brought Miss Patil here twenty minutes ago," Pomfrey told him. "She went rigid at dinner in the Great Hall." The matron covered the girl with a duvet and straightened up. 

"And Mister Thomas over there --" she nodded towards the occupied bed behind her, "-- grew stiff and tipped over in the library an hour ago." 

Realizing that Montague was moving, she hurried over to them. "He isn't paralysed, what's happened to him?" 

While she checked Montague's reflexes, Severus told her the little he knew about the Slytherin's plight.

"... and he seems unable to overcome his befuddled state of mind," Severus finished. 

The matron tried a couple of spells, but without any luck. She examined Montague further and asked him a few questions, frowning and sighing in turns. A few minutes passed, in which Severus recalled the moments after he had noticed the sweet smell. 

Dean Thomas had been sitting right next to Neville Longbottom, certainly exposed a great deal to the botched potion's fumes. And Parvati Patil - he had seen her take a particularly long sniff for the sweet fragrance in the potions classroom, deeply inhaling the vapours. 

Pomfrey's sighs grew more and more frustrated. Finally, she led Montague over to a yet unoccupied bed and fed him a sleeping draught. 

"Well, whatever confounded his mind - I cannot easily identify it, let alone remedy... I'll check my books tomorrow and see what I can do," she informed Severus. 

Following his gaze, which was directed at the Petrified Gryffindors, she added, "How likely do you think it is that this potion's getting at even more students?" 

"Very," Severus replied. "Longbottom got the most of it, and got Petrified instantly. Miss Patil and Mister Thomas got their share as well, albeit somewhat less, and suffered from the potion's effects some hours later." The implications didn't appeal at all to him. "Most likely other students will follow. The less they breathed in, the longer it seems until it takes effect." 

"I should prepare for an influx of patients then," the matron said matter-of-factly. "Well, Severus, how far have you progressed with the Mandrake Restorative Draught? And will it be enough for about --" she did a quick count in her head, "-- twenty to twenty-five students?" 

Now it was Severus's turn to sigh. "I haven't even started yet," he admitted. "Just had no time." 

The day had been taxing, and maybe Severus looked more tired than he cared to admit. Whatever the reason, the matron didn't admonish him, didn't even give him as much as a reproachful look. On the contrary, she sounded sympathetic when she asked, "I suppose you got your share of the fumes as well. Feeling anything odd yet?" 

"I'm fine. I made an effort not to breathe it in," Severus answered. "I shall finish the potion as quickly as possible, though. I'll ask Pomona for Mandrakes first thing in the morning." 

He turned to leave. "If you excuse me now, I'd like to prepare the other ingredients so I can start brewing as soon as I've got the Mandrake roots." 

Madam Pomfrey scrutinized him with a long, piercing look, probably inwardly debating whether she should accept his _'I'm fine'_. At length, she nodded. "Okay. Good night, Severus!" 

The castle corridors lay deserted when Severus hurried down the stairs from the hospital wing to the dungeons. With curfew only a couple minutes away, the students had already retreated to their common rooms. The quiet helped his concentration - in his mind, he already compared the list of required ingredients for the Mandrake Restorative Draught with the contents of his ingredients cupboard. 

When he turned the corner of the corridor to his office, Severus stopped dead in his tracks. The door stood slightly ajar. Potter would have closed it after leaving, wouldn't he? Had someone broken into his study, stealing ingredients again? Severus took his wand out and cautiously approached the door. What he saw inside the room drained all colour from his face. 

That impertinent Potter boy stood bent over the stone Pensieve, shamelessly breaching Severus' privacy! Watching what Severus diligently hid from everyone, and especially from Potter! Severus covered the distance from the door to the boy with three large strides and leant forward over the Pensieve. 

His worst fears were confirmed when the swirling mists cleared up and he saw his younger self dangling upside down in the air, being watched by the entire school, and now Harry Potter too. 

He closed his hand around Potter's arm, not caring at all whether his tight grip might hurt the boy. 

"Having fun?" Severus spat and pulled them both out of the memory. 

"So..." began Snape, once he felt solid ground under his feet again, with no idea how to continue. His mind reeled with anger, humiliation, loathing, and also anxiety. At this moment, his emotions were too many and too strong for him to hide them successfully. 

"So... been enjoying yourself, Potter?" 

"N-no..." the boy stammered, trying to free his arm. 

"Amusing man, your father, wasn't he?" Severus said in a high-pitched voice that, he realized, was bordering on hysterical. He shook the boy he was holding so hard that his glasses slipped down his nose. 

"I -- didn't --" Potter struggled for an excuse. 

Disgusted, Severus threw the spitting image of James Potter from him with all his might. He felt a little sense of satisfaction when the boy fell hard onto the dungeon floor. 

"You will not tell anybody what you saw!" he bellowed. 

"No," answered Potter, scrambling to his feet. "No, of course I w--" 

"Get out!" Severus interrupted him, "Get out, I don't want to see you in this office ever again!" 

And as Potter hurtled toward the door, a jar of dead cockroaches soared from its shelf towards the door and hit the wall, narrowly missing Potter's head. Potter wrenched the door open and fled away.


	2. An Unlikely Encounter

In this night, Severus didn't sleep well. After he had thrown Potter out of his study, he had sat down, restored the contents of the Pensieve to his mind, and simply stared into a wall for a long time. That he had planned to check whether he had all other ingredients for the Mandrake Restorative Draught - forgotten. That he needed to figure out how Longbottom had created the Petrifying potion - forgotten. That he had to think of a way to keep Longbottom's potion from the Dark Lord without letting it look like failing him - forgotten. 

His thoughts revolved only around one thing - the blackest day of his life. Not only that he'd been deeply humiliated in front of the entire school - the day had also seen the end of Lily's friendship with him. In a moment of anger, he had thoughtlessly thrown away the best thing that had ever happened to him. Again, like countless times before, he wished he'd kept his mouth shut, wished he'd not called Lily a Mudblood. He fantasized about turning his back on his Death Eater friends instead, not becoming one of them, just because Lily hadn't wanted him to. 

And he added another item to his long list of regrets - that he'd ever let Potter alone in his study. He should have known what would happen. The boy didn't have any decency, no respect for the privacy of others. 

It took a long while until his heartbeat slowed down to its usual rate and his hands stopped shaking. At some point, he noticed how tired he was. So much that he barely managed to get up from his seat and walk over to his private quarters. Although being deadly tired, deep sleep evaded him. Brooding over the injustice of live, he fell into a restless slumber. Tossing and turning in his bed, he woke up again way before sunrise. When the first ray of sunshine hit the window in his dungeon bedroom - it was enchanted to display the outside although being below ground level - he gave up trying to find any more sleep and got up. 

Just when he had changed into a fresh set of robes, someone hammered at his door. It was Pansy Parkinson, pretty agitated and hardly intelligible when she spluttered about being unable to wake up Millicent Bulstrode, who was lying in her bed rigid as a board. And that in the fifth year boys' dorm, Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, and Vincent Crabbe had also been found Petrified. 

With a pang, Severus remembered about the Mandrake Restorative Draught. He curtly instructed Pansy Parkinson to find someone to help her getting the Petrified students to the hospital wing and hastened outside to search for Pomona Sprout. 

"Severus, good morning!" Professor Sprout greeted him cheerfully when he knocked on the open door to her office in greenhouse three. She was putting on a cloak, getting herself ready for the first lesson of the day. "What can I do for you?" 

"Good morning, Pomona," he answered. "I'm in urgent need of Mandrake roots, which I am sure you could relieve me of." 

"Mandrake roots?" Her good-humoured face clouded with unhappiness. "Oh Severus, I'm so sorry... I can't help you -- I don't have any left." 

"But didn't you cultivate a whole new batch at the beginning of last school year? They should be in the prime of their lives now..." 

Sprout nodded miserably. "When Dolores Umbridge inspected my Herbology lessons, the students were repotting Mandrakes. She wouldn't listen to my warnings and managed to get herself bitten by one." Sprout snorted angrily. "That pink hag demanded I get rid of them all!" 

Employing air quotes, she added, "She claimed _the Mandrakes pose a great danger to the students, which the Ministry impossibly can accept to continue._ " 

Suddenly realizing the possibility of being overheard, the Herbology professor cast a searching gaze through the greenhouse. Even though she couldn't detect anyone, she lowered her voice before she continued. 

"Of course I couldn't kill them, even with my job at stake... I just couldn't." Sprout shook her head vigorously. 

"Fortunately, Hagrid helped me. He's spending an awful lot of time in the Forbidden Forest, you know, ever since he returned from his journey. Dunno what he's doing there, but the next time he went, he took the Mandrakes with him. Told me he planted them into the middle of a little sunny clearing deep down in the forest... I hope they can grow in peace there, undisturbed by Dugbogs and Flesh-Eating Slugs... Maybe I can get some seedlings once this outrageous woman has left our school." 

Severus scratched his chin, processing this new information. 

"Thank you, Pomona," he finally said. "I'll ask Hagrid to show me the place... I hope he still remembers where he put them." 

At the greenhouse doors, he turned back at Sprout, "Would you be so kind and inform Minerva McGonagall about where I'm going? -- And please ask her to arrange for someone to cover my Potions lessons." When Sprout nodded, he quickly called, "Thank you!" and rushed out of the greenhouse and down the lawn towards Hagrid's hut. 

Having to fetch the Mandrakes from the Forbidden Forest would mean a substantial delay in the brewing of the healing potion. He fervently hoped that he had enough time left before Longbottom's accident managed to Petrify him as well. He had tried to not breathe in the fumes, but he hadn't been able to completely avoid it. 

When Severus knocked at the door of Hagrid's hut, he got only Fang's booming barks for an answer. He knocked again, this time more vigorously, and called Hagrid's name. When still no one answered the door, Severus opened it and peeked in. 

There was only dim light inside the hut, and Fang growled threateningly at him. Severus allowed Fang some time to sniff him out. When the dog recognized Severus, he stopped to growl, but still kept his eyes trained on the intruder. 

Severus entered the hut and drew the curtains open to light the interior. Hagrid's bed in the far corner was empty and the bedsheets were already cold. A plate with nothing but crumbs on it and an empty mug smelling of cold coffee stood on the table. 

Great, he thought, just his rotten luck. On the one day he seriously needed Hagrid, the gamekeeper had left extra early, probably once more for the Forbidden Forest. He'd never find him there before the day was over. 

What now? Severus let his gaze wander, thinking fast. After meeting Fang's eyes, he took a leash from a hook in the doorframe, and fastened it to Fang's collar. 

"Come on, Fang," he said, pulling at the leash. "When your master's missing, I'll have to make do with you." 

Once more, Severus entered greenhouse three, this time with Fang at his side. Professor Sprout was nowhere to be seen. She was probably delivering his message to the Deputy Headmistress, Severus thought. He walked Fang to the back of the greenhouse. If he remembered correctly, the Mandrakes used to be cultivated somewhere there. And indeed, there were a couple of trays filled with empty pots that looked like they had only recently been vacated. 

Severus took one of the pots and held it under Fang's nose. 

"Okay Fang, I hope a Mandrake's lived in this one - show me where Hagrid took them!" 

Fang sniffed the pot, and then looked at Severus, wagging his tail. Just when Severus started to think that he might have taken the wrong pot, the boarhound leapt up and dragged Severus towards the exit. Severus followed him as fast as he could, out of the greenhouse, across the grounds, and into the Forbidden Forest. 

Fang led Severus deeper and deeper into the forest. There were strange, ominous noises to be heard around them. Severus tried to ignore them as long as they didn't come closer. And fortunately, they didn't. 

An hour had already passed, when Fang abruptly turned left, away from the path they had followed. Severus stumbled and almost lost his balance because his body hadn't reacted quickly enough to the change of direction. Were this the first signs of the Petrifying potion taking effect on him? 

They broke through thick brushwood for some more minutes. Suddenly, the undergrowth gave way to a circular, sunlit clearing. And in the centre, where most of the sunlight fell, Severus caught sight of many tufty leaves, purplish green in colour. Some were pretty small, but other tufts were large enough to reach his hips. 

Hagrid had chosen this spot well, Severus thought. The Mandrakes were positively thriving here. 

He reached into the pocket of his cloak and took a couple of stoppers out. The last thing he wanted was that the Mandrakes were the final thing they saw - and particularly heard - in their lives. He bent down and put two stoppers into Fang's ears, then two more into his own. 

Severus selected a Mandrake that was clearly mature, but not very strongly built. Time was running short and he wasn't in the mood for a long struggle with the plant to get its roots. Too bad he couldn't just use a Body-Bind curse on the plant, he thought glumly, but Mandrakes were immune against Petrification. 

Severus seized the plant with a firm grip and jerked it out of the ground. The Mandrake had still been asleep and didn't like at all to be woken up so rudely. It screamed at the top of its lungs, and when this didn't help, it tried to punch and kick Severus. Once, it even managed to bite him in his left thumb, but Severus barely noticed it - his fingers had started getting numb. 

With some difficulty, he finally managed to wrestle it down to the ground and keep it trapped under his knee. When he cut off a few roots, the Mandrake responded with even more, yet futile screaming. A swarm of sparrows flying across the clearing didn't have their ears protected, though, and for a few seconds there were small dead feather balls raining down from the sky. Fang gambolled among them, all wagging tails, and tried to catch the little fluffy things. 

Meanwhile, Severus had a hard time to bury the fiercely resisting Mandrake again with his numb fingers. When he was sure that nothing was peeking out of the ground that wasn't supposed to, he gave a sigh of relief. Thanks to the Petrification that was slowly but clearly progressing, this had been much harder than he'd expected. When he failed to grasp the stoppers in his ears with his fingertips, he used his wand to pull them out with magic. 

Stowing away the Mandrake roots, he sighed again, but this time in frustration. He wasn't sure how he should brew a potion while losing more and more of his fine motor skills. But first things first - he had yet to return to Hogwarts. 

Severus beckoned Fang to come over and removed the stoppers from the boarhound's ears, also using his wand to do it. Instantly, Fang crooked his head, perked up his ears, and listened intently. 

A few seconds later, Severus could hear faint cries from above. Their volume increased as their source drew closer to them, and then Severus could make out words. 

"I'm no feckin breakfast, drop me! -- Oh my, is that high up! Don't drop me! -- Can no one hear me? HELP!" 

Severus looked upwards and caught sight of a Golden Eagle. It carried something in its claws that looked like a tiny green man. 

Without hesitation, Severus pointed his wand at the bird and uttered, " _Locomotor Wibbly!_ " hoping he would hit the eagle and not the little man. The eagle should still be able to control its wings and not fall from the sky, but the Jelly-Legs Jinx should make it impossible for the bird to hold on to its prey. And should he hit the man, wobbly legs wouldn't be the biggest of his problems. 

But Severus, or rather the little man, was lucky. The eagle screeched with annoyance, letting its load drop. At first, it tried to catch it again, but soon it realized the futility of this endeavour in light of its wobbling legs. With another frustrated screech, the eagle flew away. 

The little man flailed his arms and legs and squeaked in terror when he realized that he was in free fall. With a Levitation Charm, Severus directed him safely back on solid ground. 

"Are you injured?" he asked the strange creature. It was indeed a small man, even smaller than a house-elf, and entirely clad in green clothes. 

The man stretched and flexed his limbs, and finally concluded in a pleased voice: "Hehe, still in one piece. -- That was a close shave! -- Could have ended much worse for poor old Sipp!" 

"Very well then," said Severus, "I have to go. I hope you can look after yourself now." 

He turned to leave. 

Fang, who had hidden behind Severus' cloak and suspiciously eyed the green creature, seemed very happy about the imminent departure. 

But Sipp wasn't ready to part yet. "Stop, not so hasty!" he cried after Severus. "You can't rescue me and then leave. Don't you know who I am?" 

Willing his voice to sound calm, Severus answered: "You're a little creature named Sipp with an apparent preference for green attire. An eagle wanted to have you for breakfast. That's already more than I care to know." With these words, Severus set off again. 

He couldn't tolerate being detained any longer. His feet had started to get numb as well and all he wanted was to return to Hogwarts as quickly as possible. 

"Oh, you know my name? Not good -- Sipp, ye olde chatterbox!" the little man admonished himself. 

Meanwhile, Severus had reached the edge of the clearing and entered the undergrowth. Sipp hurried after him. 

"Wait, don't go! Do not do that to me! -- You need to make your wish!" 

Severus ignored the annoying voice behind him, concentrating on his task at hand - getting through the brushwood and back on the path that led back to Hogwarts. When he finally left the undergrowth, he increased his speed by taking long strides along the trail. Sipp had difficulties keeping up with Severus' pace, despite trying hard. When he fell behind more and more, he snapped his fingers, and a tree toppled over right in front of Severus, effectively blocking the way. 

"What the heck?" Severus snapped. "Undo this immediately, you sneaky little --" 

But before he could finish his verbal abuse, Sipp interrupted Severus. "Now don't be so rude!" He pulled a green handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out to Severus. "Here, your hand's bleeding." 

Momentarily stumped, Severus accepted the cloth and wrapped it around the thumb that the Mandrake had bitten. 

"Thank you. But I really must get going," he said, but didn't immediately set off again. 

"See? Isn't so hard to be friendly, is it?" The little guy looked smugly at Severus. "And I really can't let you go until you made your wish." 

Seeing Severus' uncomprehending face, he explained: "I'm a Leprechaun. You saved my life, now I'm in your depth. I must grant you a wish. Please, make a wish and I won't hold you back any longer!" 

A Leprechaun, and he should wish for something! A hollow laugh escaped Severus' throat. He'd heard enough about Leprechauns. He knew that they usually didn't fulfil wishes in the way they were meant. 

"Well, what could you offer that I'd want," he sneered. "A pot full of gold that dissolves into nothing after a while?" 

He could read in Sipp's face that the Leprechaun had indeed toyed with this idea, and was disappointed now that he couldn't fob off Severus that easily. 

But Sipp wasn't about to give up yet. "Leprechaun magic's more powerful than you think," he said. "If you don't want to get something at all, perhaps I should take something away from you, something that's impairing you?" He nodded at Severus left arm, which wouldn't bend anymore. 

Severus involuntarily tried to flex his arm, to check how stiff it had become. Perhaps, the Leprechaun could cancel the effect of the ruddy potion, giving Severus full control over his body back. Or he could send Severus right back into his Potions lab, sparing him quite a long walk. House-elves could Apparate on Hogwarts grounds despite the Anti-Apparition enchantments, so maybe Leprechauns could too? Or he could just ask for a batch of Restorative Mandrake Draught, saving him the hassle of limping back to Hogwarts and brewing it by himself. 

But on the other hand, Fang didn't trust this little creature at all - a clear sign that Severus should be wary as well. Sipp would probably conjure the potion without any container, spilling it immediately. 

Severus shook his head. "No. I won't make a wish. I abate your debt. And now get lost!" 

He turned around and climbed over the fallen tree. Willing his body into cooperation, he continued to hurry along the forest trail, back to Hogwarts, as fast as he could. 

Concentrating on setting one foot before the other, Severus didn't see that Sipp followed him right off the track, under the cover of leaves and twigs. 

He also didn't hear what the Leprechaun muttered. "You think you can outsmart a Leprechaun? I'll get a wish from you, just wait..." 

His stiffening knees slowed Severus down. Every step required a huge effort now. His whole posture had gone rigid. It wouldn't be long until he would be unable to move at all. 

"I must make it back to Hogwarts! Must. Make. It," he mumbled. By now, he was more being pulled along by Fang than walking on his own accord. 

"I must not stop. Must not stumble." He wasn't aware that he was voicing his thoughts aloud - the potion had started to affect his mind as well. Sipp listened with perked ears to every word. 

"And then this Leprechaun!" Severus snorted scornfully. "Stealing my time when I have no second to waste! -- Should have left him to the eagle! -- And I should make a wish! A WISH! -- As if I'd confide my wishes to a creature I've just met! -- As if I'd confide them to anyone!" 

The trees stood farther apart now, letting more sunlight through the leaf canopy - a clear sign that they were getting closer to the edge of the forest. 

"Dratted potions accident!" Severus continued to mutter. "Should have paid more attention to the class -- maybe I'd seen it coming then -- could have prevented it, perhaps -- then I wouldn't have to hunt for Mandrakes while slowly getting Petrified!" 

Fang's leash dropped from his numb hand without Severus noticing. 

"And all this because of an Occlumency lesson that didn't even take place! -- Instead, the Potter boy watched my worst memory! -- The humiliation -- and how I foolishly threw away Lily's friendship!" 

Without the constant pull from Fang, Severus stopped walking. His leg just wouldn't come forward, no matter how hard he tried. 

"Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut?" he bemoaned his biggest mistake, as he had done so many times before. "I wish I'd never forfeited her friendship! Oh, Lily!" A last, desperate sigh escaped his mouth, then his jar became rigid and he could speak no more. 

Sipp had listened with great interest. When Severus finally said the words Sipp had been yearning for, a triumphant smile crossed his face. He left his hiding place and walked over to the unmoving Potions master. 

"See? Everyone has wishes, and tells them sooner or later." Sipp inclined his head in a mock bow. "Your wish is my command! Of course it's much harder to change what has already happened, but with the help of the elders it should be achievable! Thanks a million, I owe you nothing more!" 

Contented, Sipp started to whistle a cheerful jig and walked away, looking at the ground in search of a four-leaf clover. 

And then the Petrification process was finished and Severus did no longer see or hear anything. 


	3. A Rude Awakening

When Severus came to his senses, he was lying. In a bed. Judging by a nearby voice that clearly belonged to Poppy Pomfrey, this bed was located in Hogwarts' infirmary. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. 

This was indeed the infirmary. Hagrid was sitting on a chair right next to him, pressing a huge ice filled cloth to his left eye. The other beds seemed to be empty. 

"Oh, wonderful, yeh're awake!" Hagrid said happily. 

Severus sat up, wondering why Hagrid would be keeping watch on him. 

"What's happened?" he asked, immediately startled by his croaky voice. He reached for the water glass on the bedside table and drained its contents, while Hagrid answered Severus' question. "When I returned from the For... -- erm -- yeah -- so I was in a bit of a hurry -- yeh know, my Care for Magical Creatures class -- well, as I was headin' fer the school Fang came runnin' ter me, barkin' like mad. And I was like _'Fang, what yer doin' here, how'd yeh get out of me hut?'_ And then I saw his leash, and I knew summat wasn' right. And I took the leash and he pushed towards the Forbidden Forest, and a few minutes in I found yeh, stiff like a stone gargoyle, leanin' against a tree. Took yeh back ter Hogwarts and directly ter the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey already knew what was wrong with yeh. She was very happy 'bout the bag o' Mandrake roots --" 

" _Hem, hem,_ " Hagrid was suddenly interrupted. Hidden behind Hagrid's tall figure, Severus hadn't noticed Dolores Umbridge. She must have been the one that Madam Pomfrey had talked to when he had awoken. 

Umbridge stepped closer to the bed, right in front of Hagrid. "I'm delighted to see you are well again," she said with her poisonously sweet voice that she was using when she was all but delighted. 

"Imagine my surprise when no student showed up for my fifth year Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Professor McGonagall informed me of their... predicament. However, she couldn't tell me much about the Potions class that has been the cause of all this, as she wasn't present there." 

She wore a wide, false smile that greatly enhanced her resemblance to a giant toad. "You had a very good reason not to inform me immediately after it happened, I believe?" 

He had had a good reason indeed, but of course he couldn't tell her that he considered her a useless meddler who'd only slow them down in their efforts to sort out this Petrification mess. 

Severus gave her a piercing look and worded his reply very carefully. "The real extent of the consequences wasn't apparent immediately. Later, when the true ramifications began to unfold, it became clear that quickness was of utmost importance. Therefore, I decided to work on the solution for this problem first and inform you later. Unfortunately, as you've already learned, I found myself unable to finish my task." 

When Umbridge needed a moment to process what he'd said, he added quickly, "Now, that I'm restored, I'd love to fill you in on all the details of the incident, if you'd like." She would have demanded an account from him anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to beat her to it and pretend to be obliging. 

"Oh yes, you will do so," Umbridge said and impatiently motioned Hagrid to get off his chair. Hagrid, who had watched in silence since she had interrupted him, stood up. Unsure what to do, he looked at Severus, then to Umbridge, then to the exit, and back again. 

Umbridge pulled her clipboard out of her bag and made herself comfortable on the chair. Just when she opened her mouth, Madam Pomfrey butted in, "Excuse me, but this was long enough! Professor Snape has just awoken, he needs rest!" 

Usually, if someone would point out any weakness of him, Severus would feel compelled to protest immediately. But he didn't mind Pomfrey ushering Umbridge out, so he remained silent. 

The headmistress seemed to debate whether she should oppose the matron, but eventually thought better of it. "Well, well, tomorrow morning, then, I'd like to see you in my office." With these words, she turned around and bustled out of the infirmary. 

"This means you as well, Hagrid," Pomfrey said and held a big jar out to him. "Spread this on your eye, the swelling should be gone in an hour." 

"Oh, well -- thanks." Hagrid took the jar, which looked more like a shot glass in his giant hand. 

"And now go!" 

Hagrid cast another hesitant look at Severus. 

"It's okay, I'm fine," Severus reassured Hagrid. "Thank you for finding me." 

Hagrid nodded, and after meeting Pomfrey's unrelenting gaze, he quickly turned around and left. 

Now, that she was alone with Severus, the matron checked his eyes and his reflexes. 

"How are you feeling?" she asked him in a rather business-like tone. 

"I'm fine." Severus repeated. He swung his legs out of the bed and reached for his cloak that hung over the back of a nearby chair. "Evidently, you found someone else who was able to make the Mandrake Restorative Draught." 

"Oh yes, we did. Fortunately... By the time the potion was ready, all but three students of your Potions class were Petrified." 

Pomfrey muttered a diagnostic spell and moved her wand across Severus's chest. Looking satisfied with the result, she continued to speak. "Of all people in Hogwarts, Minerva thought the person most skilled at making potions besides you would be Miss Granger. She said the girl has always shown an aptitude for accomplishing tasks by following instructions from a book." 

Now she moved her wand over Severus' arms. "I hope you don't mind her letting Miss Granger into your office. Don't worry, she didn't leave the girl out of her sight while she was making the potion." 

Actually, Severus did mind, but he recognized that it had been an absolute necessity. He should change the password for his office, though. 

"I take it, then, that Miss Granger was one of the three students not being Petrified?" 

The matron nodded, checking his legs at last. "Yes, indeed. She used a Bubble-Head-Charm when you ordered the students to hold their breaths. And she applied one to Mister Potter and one to Mister Weasley as well... Protected them sufficiently, as it seems." 

Clever, Severus had to admit. The Bubble-Head-Charm created a bubble of fresh air around one's head to allow for breathing underwater. But of course this would work just as well against dangerous fumes. 

"And the Petrified students?" Severus indicated the empty beds. 

"All restored to their old selves and sent to their dorms already. You were the last one to wake up. Another good news is that no one should suffer lasting damage." 

Pomfrey's satisfied expression darkened. "Speaking of lasting damage - Mister Montague's condition has not improved at all today." 

Her gaze wandered to the windows at the far end of the room, and Severus noticed that one bed there was still occupied. "I didn't get around to trying all potential remedies yet, but I haven't got high hopes for a quick recovery." 

Severus inclined his head, acknowledging her efforts. 

"Thank you, Poppy." With a swift move, he stood up. "If there isn't anything else, I'd like to leave now." 

"Yes, of course... there's no reason to keep you here any longer. But take it easy -- at least for the rest of the evening!" 

Severus agreed to directly head for his quarters and left the infirmary. 

He made a quick detour to the Slytherin common room, though. As Slytherin's Head of House, he had to see for himself that his students were all well again. With that concern taken off his mind, he finally returned to his private quarters. He found dinner waiting for him in his rooms and he was sure that Poppy Pomfrey had instructed the house-elves to put it there. At the sight of the food, his stomach rumbled loudly. Suddenly he realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day. Severus tucked in until fatigue threatened to overwhelm him. He went over to his bed and lay down, not wasting time with taking off more than his outer robe. With a yawn, he closed his eyes, and slept like a stone until the next morning. 

* * *

A bright morning was dawning when Severus woke up again. After yesterday's late and rich dinner, he wasn't in a hurry to get breakfast. As it was Saturday, he didn't have to get ready for lessons either. He consulted a few books and pondered about which ingredient for Hair-Raising Potion Longbottom might have forgotten or replaced by something else to achieve this disastrous effect. 

When his ponderings didn't get him anywhere, he took a piece of parchment out of a drawer and wrote a message. Severus informed Neville Longbottom that he had earned himself a detention for Petrifying his classmates and that he was to show up in the Potions classroom in the afternoon in order to serve said detention. 

Instead of trying to figure out by himself what the boy had done, Severus could just ask him. Maybe Longbottom still remembered where he'd gone wrong. Maybe he could replicate what he had done in the Potions lesson. 

Severus put his quill down and summoned a house-elf. "Deliver this message to Neville Longbottom, a fifth year Gryffindor," he instructed the elf and handed him the folded parchment. 

When the house-elf, who was wearing a pink tea towel like a cardigan, disappeared, Severus remembered that Umbridge also wanted to talk about the Potions accident. This was his personal detention, he thought sourly. Perhaps he should meet her straightaway to be over and done with it, he mused. Without really wanting to, Severus walked over to the fireplace to check whether Umbridge was already in her office. 

He took a pinch of Floo powder and threw it into the glowing embers. When green flames flared up, he put his head in and said, "Umbridge's office!" 

Nothing happened. 

Puzzled, Severus repeated his target, but again, without success. He then tried "Dolores Umbridge's office!", "The High Inquisitor's office!" and, "The Headmistress's office!" but there was no reaction. When even, "Office of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts Dolores Jane Umbridge!" didn't yield a connection, he gave up. Hogwarts' Floo network was apparently broken. Or perhaps Umbridge had switched it off completely now to prevent any unauthorized use even within the castle itself? 

Whatever the reason, he had to find out the cumbersome way whether the new Headmistress was in her office. He put his robe back on and left his quarters, heading for the second floor. 

There, the next surprise awaited him. A few seconds after he had knocked, the door of Umbridge's office opened, and Severus came to the conclusion that he must still be sleeping. 

Not Dolores Umbridge answered the door, no, it was the late Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Quirinus Quirrell! 

"Severus, what can I do for you so early in the morning?" Quirrell asked with mild interest, as if his existence wasn't anything to be concerned about. 

Startled, Severus took a step back. Questions reeled in his head. How could Quirrell be here when he had died four years ago? Had the Dark Lord somehow revived him? Or was someone else impersonating Quirrell? What did he do in Umbridge's office? Had he harmed her? Not that he'd object... 

Cautiously, Severus reached for his wand behind his back. 

"Well?" Quirrell gave Severus a quizzical look. 

"Actually, I wanted to see Professor Umbridge," Severus said, deciding to play along instead of confronting Quirrell. Bide his time, wait until he knows more, be ready when the former Defence Against the Dark Arts professor makes a mistake... 

"Who?" Quirrell asked. 

"Dolores Umbridge. This is her office, you know?" Severus said, raising an eyebrow. 

"I'm afraid you're wrong. This is _my_ office. And I don't think there's a professor Umbridge at Hogwarts at all." 

Before Severus could respond, Minerva McGonagall turned the corner. She looked deadly tired, with sunken cheeks and dark shadows under her eyes. Wearily, she greeted them. 

"Severus, Quirinus, good morning. I'm on my way to breakfast. You'd like to join me?" 

"I'd love to, Minerva." Quirrell smiled at her and opened the door to his office a bit wider so he could step out. 

Severus paused. Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress didn't seem at all surprised to see Quirrell. Admittedly, she looked pretty worn out. But that was still no reason to deem Quirrell's presence normal. Or whoever this person was. He wasn't a very convincing impostor of Quirrell, he didn't even stutter, Severus reckoned. 

"Severus, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't help you. Is there anything else...?" said Quirrell, interrupting Severus' thoughts. 

Severus shook his head and slipped his wand a little further back into the sleeve of his robe. "No, not at the moment -- I might get back to you later." 

He stepped aside to let Quirrell leave the office. Suddenly he realized that Quirrell wasn't wearing his turban. He almost expected to come face to face with the Dark Lord when Quirrell turned around and closed the office door. But there was nothing, just very thin hair. 

When both the professors set off, Severus followed them, intent on not leaving Quirrell out of his sight. They stepped down the stairs to the Great Hall in silence when suddenly the house-elf that Severus had sent out earlier appeared right in front of them. 

He held the parchment with the message out to Severus, thick tears running down his face. 

"Sir, I is so sorry," he wailed. "I has not found Neville Longbottom. I has failed to deliver your message, Sir!" The house-elf banged his head against the wall until Severus bellowed, "Stop it!" 

"What do you mean you haven't found him?" he asked the elf, frowning. 

"I has checked every member of Gryffindor, no one has name Neville Longbottom, Sir. I is even asking other house-elves, but no one is ever meeting him." The house-elf tugged at his ears in despair. 

"Small wonder, as there is no Neville Longbottom in Gryffindor -- nor in any other house," Minerva said and cast a questioning gaze at Severus. "Why do you give orders to the house-elves that are impossible to fulfil?" 

"Yeah, Severus, what's up with you today -- why do you keep asking for people no one knows?" Quirrell interjected, not quite managing to keep a suspicious undertone from his voice. 

Severus cast a look at Minerva, then at Quirrell, and finally at the house-elf, making an effort to carefully mask his confusion. Why did no one but him remember Longbottom? Or Umbridge? Had Quirrell tampered with Minerva's memory? But that wouldn't explain why the house elf couldn't find any trace of the Gryffindor. Or why all the other house-elves in Hogwarts had no clue either. Quirrell couldn't have changed all their memories, or could he? And why would he? 

Severus took the folded parchment from the elf and conceded, "Well, forget this message. You're dismissed." 

"And don't you go punish yourself! There's no reason for it, you didn't do anything wrong!" Minerva added in a commanding tone. 

The house-elf cast her a grateful look and quickly disappeared. 

When Minerva turned back to Severus, her mouth formed a very thin line. "Severus, who is this Neville Longbottom -- or to be more precise, who do you think he is?" 

She looked at him sternly, but with earnest interest. Severus wasn't sure if it was of any use to tell her, but his high esteem for the Deputy Headmistress forbade him to refuse an answer or lie to her. 

"Thanks to Longbottom's blunder in my Potions class two days ago, almost all fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin students got Petrified. I need to find out what he did... With his help, I may be able to recreate Longbottom's potion." 

Minerva's expression became even more serious. "Longbottom's potion?" she whispered aghast. She looked at him with so much pity now that he wanted to shake her until this expression disappeared. This look was even worse than Quirrell's, who regarded him like a nutter. 

"Oh Severus," Minerva said with a sad sigh. "I know it's not easy right now, and you're under a lot of stress. Perhaps you should use the weekend for getting a bit of a rest." 

So she didn't believe him. He wasn't really surprised about that. Severus had no idea what to make of this situation, but he was determined to figure it out eventually. For the time being, he should try to not rouse any more suspicions and just watch. When Minerva and Quirrell discussed Hogwarts' security measures on their way down, he listened silently. When Minerva told Quirrell that she'd go and check the protective enchantments at the castle's south wall later, he didn't comment. 

Finally, they reached the Great Hall. While they sat down at the front table, Severus couldn't help but notice the gloomy atmosphere in the hall. He couldn't hear any laughs from the students. There were only half as many as he was used to, and they were eating mostly in silence, or talking in whispers. And the teachers weren't any different. They were wearing serious faces, many looked tired, and hardly anyone was chatting with their neighbour. 

And absolutely no one, neither student nor professor, showed any surprise about seeing Quirinus Quirrell. 

After taking a few bites of toast, Severus pushed his plate away from him. He wasn't hungry. As it didn't look like the mystery about Quirrell would resolve itself here soon, Severus got up and left the Great Hall. 

Outside, he pondered whether he should try again to get into Umbridge's office, while Quirrell was still having breakfast. But he didn't know the password. Until he'd gotten around the security spells, Quirrell was probably finished with his meal. 

No, there had to be another way to find out what was wrong here. And the place where he could think best was in his study. 

* * *

When Severus opened the door to his office, an acrid stench hit his nose. Brownish smoke everywhere made his eyes water. What the hell was going on here? 

Once more, Severus used the venting spell to get rid of the smoke. When the view became clearer, he spotted the source of the smoke in the far corner. A cauldron with some half-done potion had boiled over. Its contents had poured into the fire and thus created the smoke and stench. 

There were two more cauldrons simmering on low heat - one with a murky, turquoise solution, and one with clear, light green liquid. Severus had no idea who had set up these cauldrons, but he recognized immediately what was bubbling along there. The green potion was a stimulant that kept people awake for twenty-four hours. The way most professors had looked at breakfast they could really use it. The turquoise one was Strengthening Solution, and it was supposed to be clear as well. 

At first, Severus extinguished the fire under the cauldron with the burnt potion. Then, he started to stir the murky solution counter-clockwise. After a minute of stirring, the Strengthening Solution was clear again and he could attend to the spoilt potion. Judging by the remains, he suspected that it should have been Burn-Healing Paste. 

Severus muttered a spell that emptied the cauldron. With a swish of his wand, the cauldron was spotlessly clean again and any trace of burnt potion was gone. 

With order being restored in his office, Severus sat down, pondering once more his strange situation. Since he had woken up this morning, nothing had been like it was supposed to be. Slowly, he started to doubt his own sanity. Perhaps, he asked himself, perhaps was everything normal, only he was imagining that it should be different? After all, no one else had seemed to be taken aback by anything unusual. 

The theory of him losing his mind was supported by the mysterious cauldrons in his office. He could not remember working on these potions, and yet no one else could have done it. 

Firstly: None of the other professors would have been able to make something as complicated as Burn-Healing Paste. Maybe one or two very talented students could have the necessary skills, but they wouldn't be able to enter his office without him knowing. Minerva McGonagall had let Hermione Granger in his office when he had been Petrified, but only for making Mandrake Restorative Draught, and she had watched the girl all the time. No way for Miss Granger to start three cauldrons of complicated potions unseen. And maybe this had only happened in his imagination anyway, a little voice in his head pointed out. 

Secondly: The way the ingredients had been meticulously prepared and laid out beside the cauldrons in the order of being needed - all this bore unmistakably his very own signature. 

Suddenly Severus noticed a piece of parchment pinned to the wall behind the cauldrons. Curious, he stepped closer. It was a long list of potions, all written down in the neat handwriting of Albus Dumbledore. The list could be divided into three categories: Potions that healed a wide variety of injuries, elixirs that made someone stronger, more awake, or helped with concentration, and finally antidotes that countered jinxes and curses, or immunised against their effects. As if someone would prepare for a battle. The quantities noted on the list would be enough to supply an army. Or all students and teachers of an entire school, it occurred to him. 

Severus knew most potions on the list, even if he hadn't made some of them for years. But at one item he did a double-take. Longbottom's Potion? He made a mental note to search for it in his records, but first he should attend to more pressing matters. 

About one third of the potions on the list had been annotated with _'Done'_ in his own handwriting. Three were marked _'In Progress'_ and the rest had no comment, meaning they had yet to be made. Whatever the reason for this list was, if Dumbledore had requested it, it was important. He should continue to work on it. 

Severus rolled up his sleeves and started a new batch of Burn-Healing Paste. A few minutes later, the green stimulant was finished. He bottled and corked it, and replaced the _'In Progress'_ by _'Done'_. Then, he cleaned up the cauldron and prepared ingredients for the next potion. 

When he stirred the Strengthening Solution some more to prevent it from getting murky again, his eyes fell on his arm. What he saw there, or, more precisely, what he did not see, startled him so much he almost let his wand drop into the cauldron. 

Unbelieving, he closed his eyes, then opened them again and looked once more. It was still missing. He looked at his other arm, but there was nothing either. He rolled up the sleeves of his robes some more, until they reached his shoulder - but nothing. The Dark Mark wasn't somewhere else, no, it was gone! 

His heart pounded wildly when he sat down in shock. He just couldn't believe it. Years ago, he had tried to remove the Dark Mark, but each and every attempt had failed. And now, he hadn't done anything and it had vanished. His left arm bore only pale, unblemished skin with bluish-violet tracks indicating the blood vessels underneath. 

Did he go insane now? How could the Dark Mark disappear just like that? Once you got it, you had it for the rest of your life. Or maybe for the rest of the Dark Lord's life - but he wasn't dead. The only way to be without the Dark Mark was never to be a Death Eater in the first place. 

Lily hadn't wanted him to become one. So many times he had wished that he'd listened to her, that he'd dumped his Death Eater friends, that he'd not joined them. But this had only been a wish. Wishes didn't just come true. 

Or did they? 

Suddenly, he remembered Sipp, the Leprechaun. Was Sipp behind the strange things that happened here? But Severus had refused to make a wish, hadn't he? He racked his brain to recall the last minutes before he had gotten completely Petrified. The process had not only impaired his body, his mind hat suffered too. Maybe he had uttered a wish without noticing? And if he did, what wish would that have been? What wish would result in _this_? 

Severus was sweating. All of a sudden, it was way too hot in here - and not only because of the three fires under the cauldrons. After taking his robe off, Severus also unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing underneath. 

His fingertips grazed a chain that he was wearing around his neck and which had been hidden under the collar of his shirt. Curiously, Severus pulled the chain out from under his shirt - usually he didn't wear any jewellery. It turned out to be a simple silver link chain with two rings on it, rings that looked suspiciously like wedding rings. Severus checked their size and found that the larger one exactly fitted on his ring finger. 

And another mystery. Why was he wearing wedding rings around his neck? Assuming that Sipp indeed had managed to change his life, had set up somehow that Severus never had become a Death Eater - what had happened then? How much did the course of history differ from what he knew? And had it been better or worse for him? 

While he was staring at the ring on his finger, lost in thought, suddenly a gentle voice spoke at the door, "Oh Severus, after all this time -- you're still in mourning?" 

Severus looked up, surprised, because he had immediately recognized the voice belonging to Albus Dumbledore. And Dumbledore was the last person he'd expected to see here - the Ministry of Magic was searching for him, after all. Or weren't they? 

When Severus didn't answer, Dumbledore closed the door and stepped closer. 

"Minerva told me about your odd behaviour. She's worried the stress is becoming too much for you to bear." He took a chair and sat down - his way of making clear he didn't plan to leave again soon. 

"How are you feeling?" Dumbledore inquired with the same gentle voice he had greeted him with. 

Severus wondered what he should answer. If he talked about the Leprechaun and the changed reality, this would probably convince Dumbledore that Minerva's worries were justified. 

On the other hand, Dumbledore would never accept a simple _'I'm fine'_ , especially because it was a lie. And Severus had too much respect for his old friend to ever try to deceive him. If Severus really didn't want to tell the truth, his only option was to say that he didn't want to talk about his feelings, and hope that Dumbledore would respect his wish for privacy. Of course, Dumbledore would then worry even more about Severus' well-being, and in the long run, wouldn't let the matter rest more than ever. 

And perhaps, Dumbledore could impart what had happened in this reality, so that Severus wouldn't have to stumble from one surprise to the next... 

Severus pulled himself together and began to speak, "A few hours ago, I was still thinking I was fine. But then I found that nothing was like it was supposed to be..." He related to Dumbledore the Potions accident and his resulting foray into the Forbidden Forest, where he encountered the Leprechaun. He talked about his suspicion that he accidentally made a wish and that Sipp might have changed the course of history. Finally, he gave an account of history, his own life, and proceedings at Hogwarts how he remembered them. 

All the time, Albus Dumbledore listened attentively. His expression didn't betray any hint about what he was thinking of it. When Severus finished, Dumbledore asked for more details. Harry Potter and his role in the fight against the Dark Lord seemed to be of particular interest to him. 

The sun was climbing closer toward its highest point in its daily arc when Dumbledore's curiosity finally was satisfied. Dazzling rays fell through the little window just under the ceiling, and for a few silent moments, Dumbledore watched their dancing reflections on the surface of a simmering potion. 

At last, the old wizard sighed. "Well, this is without a doubt a very interesting story. If indeed this Leprechaun changed the past and present, it was definitely a change for the worse." He stroked his long beard thoughtfully. "All those years, I had a vague feeling that something wasn't right. I believed it to be wishful thinking, illusions of an old man who denies reality just because it's not what he'd like it to be. But maybe, there was something true about it, after all." 

Severus could hardly believe his ears. "Then you don't think I'm mad?" 

Dumbledore shook his head. "How could I? Everything you said seems plausible. Making this all up is no mean feat. Inventing all these people and events, convincingly interweaving them with the real world, and keeping track of details - I doubt a confused mind would be able to pull this off so well." 

Dumbledore's blue eyes pierced Severus for a long moment. "You called Lord Voldemort the Dark Lord, something that only his followers -- and apparently former ones -- do." 

Severus couldn't tell if Dumbledore was amused or disgusted by this observation. 

"And you didn't cringe when I said his name just now -- you're definitely not the Severus Snape I know." 

While Severus took care of a finished potion and collected the ingredients for the next one on the list, Dumbledore continued to speak. 

"So you'd like to know how your life was without the Dark Mark? I will tell you about it, but I daresay you won't like it any better than the life you told me about. 

"You said Lily Evans broke up your friendship in your fifth year at Hogwarts. This never happened here. You were always best friends, and after your graduation from Hogwarts, the both of you got engaged. Lord Voldemort was very interested in your potion making skills, but you resisted every attempt of your Slytherin house mates to recruit you for the Death Eaters. Lord Voldemort didn't react kindly to being rejected, and on the day of your wedding, he sent his Death Eaters after you both. They killed her, and they tried to kill you. You managed to escape, heavily injured, to Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey could mend your body, but not your broken heart. You've been wearing your wedding rings on a chain around your neck ever since." 

Severus felt a big lump build up in his throat. Lily had chosen him and he had lost her still. He had always put a large portion of the blame for Lily's death on James Potter. If she hadn't married him, the Dark Lord wouldn't have killed her. But now it seemed as if he'd judged completely wrong. In the new reality, Lily had wanted to marry him, and yet she had been killed. Her choosing him had made her short life even shorter. 

Not sure if he really wanted to know, he asked, "And then? What happened next?" 

"With a death sentence on your head, you couldn't leave Hogwarts. It was the only place where you were safe. I hired you as Potions Master, and you've been working and living here for the last seventeen years." 

Severus slumped in a chair, desperately disappointed. That was absolutely not how he had imagined his life when he had dreamed about not calling Lily a Mudblood, about not losing her friendship, about spending his time with her in bliss instead of risking his life as Dumbledore's spy. 

And then another terrible thought occurred to him. "If Harry Potter has never been born, who broke the Dark Lord's power?" 

"No one, Severus," the headmaster replied sadly. "Many have tried, but no one succeeded." 

Slowly, the full extent of this new reality sunk in, heightening Severus' despair even more. The Dark Lord had ruled the magical community without a break since his first rise to power. The First Wizarding War was still being fought. By now, he was probably way too powerful to still be defeated successfully. 

"Oh Merlin, what have I done?" Severus muttered, burying his face in his hands. 

He had known he couldn't trust a Leprechaun. And yet he had been tricked into making a wish, somehow. Be careful what you wish for, lest it become true. The saying never fitted better, he thought bitterly. 

He hadn't been careful. He had never spent much thought on the consequences of his wishes. Because they wouldn't come true anyway. Or so he'd thought. Turned out he had been wrong. 

If only he had taken the pot of gold! It would have dissolved into nothing, and he wouldn't have caused this mess. 

And suddenly he realized why Quirinus Quirrell was still the professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts. The Dark Lord had never lost his body, so he had never needed to share Quirrell's. Harry Potter had never existed and the confrontation between Potter and the Dark Lord that led to Quirrell's demise had never happened. And without being pressed into the Dark Lord's service, Quirrell had never turned into a nervous wreck, never developed his stutter. 

One of the cauldrons emitted orange bubbles that rose high in the air and then burst with a distinct popping sound. Now was the time to turn down the fire under the Burn-Healing Paste and add the last ingredient before the cauldron boiled over again. Severus got up and added powder of vipers-flesh to the mixture. 

"So, how far did you get with the list?" the headmaster asked, changing the topic. 

Vigorously stirring, Severus answered, "If you talk about these potions --" he nodded towards the piece of parchment pinned to the wall, "-- almost half of them are done. If I keep using three cauldrons in parallel, I should be finished with the last one tomorrow evening." 

The hot fluid and the added powder had blended into a thick orange paste. Severus fetched a big jar from a nearby shelf and filled it with the compound. While he scraped every last bit of paste from the cauldron, he asked, "What do you need so many potions for? One might think you want to go to war." 

"Indeed, Severus," Dumbledore agreed solemnly. "That is actually the case." 

Severus paused, surprised looking up at Dumbledore. 

"Is the Ministry planning an attack on the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters? And we're supplying the Aurors with potions that help them to survive a bit longer?" 

The headmaster shook his head once again. "No, we don't. All important positions in the Ministry of Magic have been filled with loyal followers of Lord Voldemort for years. They do not oppose him anymore, let alone attack. And I daresay the potions would be enough for many more Aurors than there are left. 

"No, the situation is much direr than you probably could imagine. Hogwarts is the very last place that Lord Voldemort can't control. And he is not happy about this. When Quirinus Quirrel was in Knockturn Alley last month --" 

"Knockturn Alley? What business should he do _there_?" Severus burst out, his distrust of the man flaring up again. 

"Why, spying of course." Dumbledore curtly said, and then continued his interrupted explanation. "Disguised as an old witch he followed Lucius Malfoy into Borgin and Burkes. He could overhear Mister Malfoy asking Mister Borgin for a means to inconspicuously get his son Draco away from Hogwarts, and was sold two small vials - a potion and its antidote. 

"I assume the Dark Lord plans to attack Hogwarts soon, and it is only natural that Lucius Malfoy doesn't want to risk his son getting caught in the crossfire. Then, two days ago, in Potions class, Draco purportedly tested the Potion he made during the lesson, and developed a blue skin rash that neither you nor Madam Pomfrey could remedy. Draco was transferred to St. Mungos yesterday -- and I think this is the sign that the attack will commence soon. 

"We have implemented precautions, and one is the list of potions you are working on. They are for the staff, and for the students, because we will need their help fighting the Death Eaters. But - and I haven't confided this to anyone yet - I'm afraid we are still too few to save Hogwarts. I don't want to imagine what will happen when we lose." 

Suddenly, Dumbledore didn't look as lively as Severus used to know him. Suddenly, the burden of his worries seemed to weigh him down. Every single one of his years was showing on his face. And then Severus knew what had seemed so strange about Dumbledore ever since he'd come to his office. The unremitting twinkle in Dumbledore's blue eyes was completely absent. 

This wasn't good news but Severus didn't assess the situation as pessimistic as Dumbledore obviously did. 

"The students of the upper classes should be a force to be reckoned with. The teaching staff's much more skilled at doing magic than the average Death Eater, and we could call the members of the Order for help. You are more than an even match for the Dark Lord - why do you think we'll lose this battle?" 

"You don't understand, Severus. Things are different - very different from what you remember. There are much less students at Hogwarts than there used to be. In particular muggle-born children have become very rare. They and their families have been wiped out. The number of Hogwarts students with wizarding parentage has dwindled as well. Many families have sent their children to schools abroad, fearing for their safety because they know that Lord Voldemort will not leave Hogwarts alone forever. Right now, this school is operating at only half of its capacity. And the Order of the Phoenix is no help either. Every member outside of Hogwarts is dead or in Azkaban." 

Dumbledore sighed as he watched Severus label another full bottle. 

"Faced with the choice to support Lord Voldemort or be killed," he continued, "many witches and wizards chose life over principles. There are many more Death Eaters than you know from your reality. More than we can defeat, I'm afraid." 

Now it was Severus who felt weighed down by the burden of his worries. How could being friends with Lily or not, being a Death Eater or not, have such an enormous impact? He had always bitterly regretted that he had been unable to save Lily's life. But apparently her survival hadn't even been the point. Important was that his decisions - his mistakes as he had always regarded them as - had enabled her to marry Potter and get a son and prevent such a disastrous development of events. 

And now he had destroyed it all. Or rather Sipp had. 

Severus made up his mind. "I caused this mess -- let me clean it up again. I'm going to find the Leprechaun and force him to undo his changes if it's the last thing I ever do." 

Dumbledore scrutinized him once more with a piercing look. Finally he nodded. "Okay, try it. But don't stop making these potions yet -- just in case you shouldn't succeed." 

Hogwarts' headmaster bid his farewell and left Severus alone with his jumbled thoughts. 

Not only because Dumbledore had asked him to, but also as a means to distract himself, Severus kept on making potions. And while he whittled ingredients, stirred cauldrons, and bottled potions, he racked his brain trying to figure out how to find Sipp, and how to make him undo the wish.


	4. Preparations

When lunch time drew near, all three cauldrons reached a state in which they had to simmer for a while and didn't need immediate attention. Severus used the breather to get himself lunch. 

The atmosphere in the Great Hall was still as gloomy as it had been at breakfast. Severus still didn't have much appetite, but he loaded his plate with a good portion of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and gravy. He didn't want to collapse from starvation just when he had found the Leprechaun. 

However, he couldn't start looking for Sipp before he found someone who would monitor his cauldrons and who could continue the brewing. He recalled that Hermione Granger had made the Mandrake Restorative Draught all on her own, being guided only by a book. If anyone would be able to stand in for him, it was probably her. But did she even exist in this reality? According to Dumbledore, most muggle-born witches and wizards were dead. He hadn't seen her at breakfast, but then, he hadn't actively looked for her then. 

While he was eating deliberately slowly, he kept an eye on the entrance. As Dumbledore had told, there weren't many students coming for lunch. The Great Hall was filled much less than what he considered normal. By the time that Severus had finished his plate, Miss Granger still hadn't made an appearance. He had just resolved to ask Minerva about the girl, despite risking another pitying look from her, when Hermione Granger entered the Great Hall. 

Severus breathed a sigh of relief. If Miss Granger wouldn't have been at Hogwarts, he hadn't known anyone else to whom he could entrust his cauldrons with reasonable confidence. 

While she was eating, Severus watched her discreetly. She didn't seem to have many friends, sitting alone, quite a bit away from everyone else at the Gryffindor table. Well, Harry Potter didn't exist, and without the incident with the mountain troll that Quirrell had let in, she and Ronald Weasley hadn't gotten close either, Severus surmised. The girl ate quickly, reading in a leather-bound tome at the same time. Typically Granger, he thought, always her nose in a book. 

Severus got up and walked over to the Gryffindor table. He stopped behind Hermione Granger and cleared his throat. Granger winced at the sudden sound, but tried to hide her anxiety when she looked up at him. 

"Miss Granger," he said, automatically assuming his indecipherable tone of voice that didn't betray any of his intentions to a student. Because he usually deducted house points or dished out detentions, though, they always assumed the worst. "Once you're finished with your lunch, I'll await you in my office. Promptly." 

With these words, he turned around and swept out of the Great Hall. He didn't miss the curious glances following him, glances from students wondering what an exemplary schoolgirl like Hermione Granger could have done to be ordered to Snape's office on a Saturday. 

* * *

Severus was writing down instructions for her, when, about fifteen minutes later, there was a timid knock at the door. 

"Come in," he called and watched the door slowly creaking open. 

Granger stepped in and jumped when the door fell shut behind her with a loud bang. 

Not moving away from the door, she asked nervously, "You wanted to see me, Sir?" 

What a shy girl, Severus thought. Or was she just afraid of him? The Hermione Granger he used to know had a lot more self-confidence. The friendship with Potter and Weasley, and the need to stand her ground against them, seemed to have done her some good after all. 

The girl squirmed uncomfortably at being scrutinized wordlessly by her Potions professor. She gave the impression as if she could lose her nerves and run away at any moment. Severus hoped that he didn't make a mistake and put his quill away. 

"Miss Granger, I'm in a bit of a dilemma, and I was hoping you could help me out of it." 

She looked at him with evident surprise. She clearly found it hard to believe that he would ask her for help. Nevertheless, her anxiety seemed to lessen a bit. 

"I've got something to do that'll keep me away from Hogwarts for a while. But I have three caldrons with potions brewing here that I cannot leave unattended." 

With relief and some satisfaction, he saw her face slightly screwing up in concentration. Doubtless, her brain was gathering all knowledge about Potions, to have it immediately ready in case of need. As he showed her the cauldrons, telling her which potions were currently in the making, instructing her how to continue his work, and emphasizing the importance of completing the list of potions as quickly as possible, she listened attentively. From time to time she asked a question that demonstrated to him that not only she had understood her task, but that she was already thinking ahead. Her initial shyness had completely vanished, now that they were talking about a topic she was familiar with. Now, she resembled much more the Hermione Granger he knew. 

"Feel free to use the books here if you need information about any of these potions," he said, pointing to the bookshelf at the wall behind his desk. "And if they shouldn't suffice, Madam Pince should be able to help you find what you need in the library." 

Severus walked back to his desk, picked up a piece of parchment, and handed it over to Granger. "This is a written permission for you to use the Restricted Section, just in case." 

Granger grasped the parchment, but Severus didn't let go of it. "I trust that you won't misuse the privileges I'm granting you. You better not disappoint me," he said with his sternest voice. 

When Granger gulped and then nodded, sufficiently intimidated, he finally relinquished his hold on the parchment. 

With a flick of his wand, Severus fetched his cloak, and then headed for the door. A thought crossed his mind that made him stop and turn back to Granger. 

"Actually, there's something else I'd like to ask you," he said. "Have you ever heard of Longbottom's Potion?" 

He had wanted to find out what it was, but then he got so much to think about that this potion had slipped his mind. When he had jotted down instructions for Granger, he had suddenly remembered it. It wouldn't hurt to ask the little know-it-all, he thought. 

Granger nodded eagerly. "Yes, of course I have. It protects against Petrification. Basically, it's a Mandrake Restorative Draught, but it's taken pre-emptively. You developed it after the Longbottom family died a horrible death, to make sure this never happens again." 

Noticing the question marks all over his face, Granger went into details. "The Longbottoms were Aurors, and fighting You-Know-Who. One day, Death Eaters broke into their home and Petrified them all. They set their house on fire, and the entire family - father, mother, grandmother, and their little son - perished in the flames, unable to flee." 

Her face had become ashen. "He was about my age -- their son Neville," she added quietly. 

And another mystery solved. Neville Longbottom wasn't at Hogwarts because he was dead. Severus hated what had become of this world with every fibre of his body. 

He was curious, however, about the potion. Three years ago, he himself had explained to Gilderoy Lockhart that he couldn't protect himself from the monster by just drinking some of the Mandrake Restorative Draught once it would be ready. Had explained how the draught worked: it penetrated Petrified body cells and restored them to their original state. If there were no such cells, the draught just fizzled out without doing anything. Therefore, it was impossible to use Mandrake Restorative Draught pre-emptively. Of course, the imbecile hadn't believed him, had accused Severus of wanting to keep the draught to himself. 

And now Granger told him that he himself had made the impossible possible. But how? 

"I'm afraid my memory is failing me," Severus said tentatively. "Miss Granger, you don't happen to know how I solved the problem with the lack of effect when taking the potion as a precaution?" 

"Oh yes, I know it! I wrote an essay about Longbottom's Potion last year." She walked over to a shelf that was littered with rolls of parchment, binders, and notebooks. She ran her finger along the spines of the notebooks, and finally pulled one out. 

Handing it over to him, she explained, "These are the notes you took during your research. You gave me permission to read them for my essay, and they're really insightful. Basically, you crystallised the Mandrake Restorative Draught. When magic runs through a body, changing its cells, this triggers a disintegration of the minuscule crystals. They release the potion, and then it counters the Petrification right at its onset." 

Severus leafed through the notebook, browsing through his notes, astounded. Granger had summed it up pretty well, but the crystallisation process was not as easy as it had sounded. Apparently, he had spent months on perfecting it, on making sure the crystals didn't disintegrate too early nor too late, or when hit by the wrong kind of magic. 

He put the notebook down. He should study it more thoroughly after his return. If he should indeed manage to restore his world, this potion was the solution to his dilemma with Longbottom's Petrifying potion. He could give the Dark Lord what he desired, and he could give the Order members and everyone else the potion that protected against it. 

But he had a more important task for now. Severus put on his cloak and headed up the stairs, out of the big oak front doors, and down to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid wasn't very keen on lending Fang to Severus, especially because the Potions master wouldn't tell him the reason why he needed the boarhound. But he gave in eventually and, with a heavy heart, handed Fang's leash over to Severus. 

Severus could feel Hagrid's eyes bore into his back until he and Fang vanished in the Forbidden Forest. As soon as they were out of Hagrid's sight, Severus locked eyes with Fang, trying to plant an image of the green man into Fang's mind, and commanded, "Fang, search for Sipp, the Leprechaun!" 

Fang looked uncomprehendingly at Severus and didn't move. 

Severus tried again, "Come on, Fang, find Sipp!" 

Confused, Fang spun around in a circle and then sat down, expectantly looking up at Severus. 

Why did the dog not understand what Severus wanted? How should he get across to the dog that he wanted to find the creature they met yesterday? And then it hit him. Fang didn't know what to look for because he didn't know Sipp. At the current course of events, Severus hadn't been in the Forbidden Forest with Fang, and they had never met the Leprechaun. Severus groaned. This alternate reality thing gave him a headache. 

He would need something to set Fang on Sipp's scent. Not really expecting to find the handkerchief that Sipp had given him for his bleeding thumb, Severus frisked his pockets - and he was right, it wasn't there. However, he knew how it looked like, and he believed he knew where it was - in one of Sipp's pockets - maybe this was good enough to summon it? 

Severus concentrated as hard as he could on the tiny green cloth and his desire to get it, raised his wand, and muttered, "Accio Sipp's Handkerchief!" 

For a few moments, nothing happened. If this didn't work, Severus thought, he'd have to go back to Hagrid and ask him for help. Maybe Hagrid could communicate to the dog what Severus needed. He wasn't keen on reiterating his whole story again, but if anything else failed... 

A rustling in the green canopy above caught his attention. When he looked up, he saw something flutter through the twigs and leaves towards him. He stretched out his hand and a tiny green cloth landed on his palm. 

Relieved, Severus bent down and held the handkerchief under Fang's nose. The boarhound sniffed it thoroughly and then looked miserably at Severus, whimpering. 

"Yeah, I know, you don't like the little gnome, and neither do I. But it can't be helped; you must find him for me. So come on, search!" 

After another miserable look, Fang set off, his nose at the ground, moving his head back and forth, searching for Sipp's trail. They walked deeper and deeper into the forest, where the trees became larger and stood closer together. Although it was broad daylight outside of the forest, the light was dim, and soon Severus couldn't see far ahead of them. 

Hours passed. Fang sniffed here and there and then here again, but he couldn't find any trace of the Leprechaun. After looking at every place Severus had been the day before, they just followed random paths through the forest. 

When dusk set in, a frustrated Severus chose a direction that led them back to Hogwarts. The growing shadows of the black trees merged together and the earth path they were following was hardly visible anymore. Severus' hope for finding Sipp had dwindled away long ago. 

All of a sudden, Fang stopped. He cocked his ears and growled lowly. 

"Did you finally find him, Fang? Good boy!" Severus petted Fang's side and fastened his leash on the branch of a fallen tree. He gave Fang one of the treats that Hagrid had insisted he'd take along. "And now be quiet, I don't want to scare him away!" he whispered. 

While Fang chewed the treat with visible pleasure, Severus strained his eyes and ears to locate the Leprechaun. Suddenly he heard a voice not far from him. As silently as possible, he crept towards the bend in the path before them, where the voice had come from. He stopped dead when it spoke again. 

"Tell me again, why couldn't we hide in the forest tomorrow morning?" a deep male voice griped. The voice was much deeper than Sipp's, and it sounded from a height that matched the distance of a human head from the ground, not a Leprechaun's. 

"Are you questioning the Dark Lord's orders?" came the sharp retort of a second male voice that was definitely not Sipp's either. 

"No no, of course not..." the first voice hurried to assure his mate. "But wouldn't have it sufficed to surround Hogwarts just right before we attack?" 

"You should have listened when the Master explained this!" With a tone of forced calm that didn't quite succeed in hiding the irritation, the voice continued, "Right now, he's implementing Anti-Apparition Charms all around Hogwarts - Hogsmeade, the train tracks, the part of the forest that extends beyond Hogwarts' boundaries - so that no one can escape, and no one can come for their aid. We have to take position before he's closing off everything, because we can't Apparate here afterwards. Understood, thickhead?" 

"Yeah... But now we've got to spend the entire night in this cursed forest! Hope we're still complete tomorrow, with who knows what roving around here." 

"Then just watch your ass, coward! What do you have a wand for? If some beast turns up here, embrace the opportunity and practise what you'll do to the Mudbloods in Hogwarts tomorrow! -- And now shut up!" 

Slowly, Severus let out the breath he had been holding while listening. Fang had obviously not found Sipp, but made nevertheless an important discovery. Cautious, striving to make no sound, he crept closer. 

Finally, he could see them: two dark figures, wearing black cloaks. Death Eater masks were dangling from their belts. They were standing between two large trees, just behind the bend, so close to Severus' hiding place he could have touched them. One was of medium height and burly build, with his cloak tightly stretching around his shoulders. The other one was tall and gaunt, not unlike Severus. 

He had to warn Dumbledore about the imminent attack and the Anti-Apparition Charms around Hogwarts as quickly as possible. But the Forbidden Forest was probably swarming with Death Eaters. How should he get past them in order to return to the castle? 

Severus risked another glance around the bush he was using as cover. The Death Eaters stood with their backs to him. If he could subdue them without anyone else noticing, he could take the cloak and mask of the larger one and pretend to be one of them. Because he had no clue how far the next Death Eaters were away, this had to happen as silently as possible. 

At this moment, he was especially glad that he always wore black clothing. Dusk was almost over and the Forbidden Forest was wrapped in darkness. Severus was only discernible if you knew exactly where to look. The Death Eaters didn't know it, and were rather careless anyway. They planned to spend the night in a dangerous place, but they'd neither kept their voices down, nor had it occurred to them to implement some basic security measures, like a shield or a proximity alarm. 

Very slowly and silently, Severus straightened up behind the bush and stepped around it until he was directly behind the burly Death Eater, the one who had been griping. He didn't want to overwhelm him with a curse because the accompanying flash of light would alarm the other one. Instead, faster than an eye could follow even in bright daylight, Severus' hands shot forward. One reached around the man's chest, holding him close, and the other gripped the man's chin, jerking his head sideways. His neck broke with a soft cracking sound, and his body became limp. 

This had been the easy part. 

The very moment as the heavyset Death Eater died, the long guy turned around, alarmed. He had much better reflexes than Severus had hoped for and instantly flung a stunner in the direction of the cracking sound. Severus held on to the dead body, shielding himself from the curse. Not waiting for the red flash to arrive, Severus countered with his own Stunning Spell. His adversary blocked it with ease and took cover behind a large oak tree. 

Severus hexed the tree so that it tried to seize the Death Eater with its branches and to shove him out of his cover, but the Death Eater Petrified the tree and Severus couldn't get it to move again. 

So much for stealth. Severus cursed inwardly. Many of the Dark Lord's followers were idiots, mostly serving the Dark Lord as cannon fodder. But not all, unfortunately. And now, of all times, when Severus wanted to deal with the Death Eaters quickly and without attracting attention, he met one who knew how to defend himself. 

Severus transfigured a snapped branch on the ground into a huge serpent that slithered towards the Death Eater, hissing and baring its poisonous fangs. Before it could reach him, though, the Death Eater changed the snake into a bunch of scorpions that turned around and scurried towards Severus. 

Severus encircled the scorpions in a ring of fire, but before they all burned down to small piles of ash, the tall Death Eater enlarged one to the size of an elephant who trod on the flames unperturbed. Its stinger was large enough to impale both, the dead Death Eater and Severus, who was still using the body as a shield, with one stab. With a Severing Charm, Severus slashed off the stinger. When it hit the ground, it sprouted little legs that carried it back to the scorpion's tail and both parts fused together again. The giant scorpion raised its mended tail for another attack but Severus blasted it into a cloud of sand and blew it into the Death Eater's face. 

Again, the guy proved that he wasn't the usual mediocre skilled thug and turned the sand into a swarm of angry bees, sending them back at Severus. Severus managed to halt the swarm and even get it to move a bit in the opposite direction, but his adversary fought hard against having the control over the swarm taken away from him. For a while, the swarm milled about the same position, with neither Severus nor the Death Eater gaining the upper hand in their struggle to dominate it. 

The tall guy finally decided to end the stalemate and dissolved the bees into smoke, then tried to lift away Severus' shield for getting a clear shot - a blunder that Severus had secretly been hoping for. 

The Death Eater used a Levitation Charm to rob Severus of his human shield, not realizing that he couldn't use his wand for anything else as long as he was levitating the body with it. Severus, however, was well aware of this fact. As soon as he felt the weight of his shield lessen, he jumped forward, past the body and around the oak tree. He came face to face with his opponent, who momentarily couldn't hex him, and hit him square in his chest with a powerful stunner. 

After the Death Eater had collapsed unconsciously, Severus took a moment to take a breather. The exchange of jinxes and curses had been taxing, but in an oddly good way. If it hadn't been a matter of life and death, he'd probably enjoyed it. For a while, he listened for any commotion in the forest, but there was none. It seemed that he was lucky and no one else had noticed their fight. 

To prevent the dangerous Death Eater from hurting or even killing anyone in the upcoming battle, Severus snapped his neck as well. Then he took his Death Eater cloak along with the mask on its belt and put it on himself. With a Severing Spell, he cut off the Death Eater's left arm and then incinerated both dead bodies. He hid the ashes under soil and leaves, hoping he'd covered up his tracks sufficiently. 

Fang had meanwhile finished his treat. He growled when Severus returned to him, but stopped immediately when he identified Severus's scent. 

"Getting old, huh?" Severus said and petted Fang's head. "Having problems to recognize people who are more than a yard away from you... Well, come on, we've got to hurry up." 

Severus detached Fang's leash from the tree, put on the mask, and lodged the Death Eaters' arm in the cloak, making it look as if it was his own. Holding both Fang's leash and his wand ready with his right hand, and hiding his left arm inside the cloak, he walked back to Hogwarts as swift as possible in the barely penetrable darkness. 

On his way back, Severus met several other Death Eaters. They always wanted to know why he was wandering around the forest, and he could always convince them that he had been ordered to check whether everyone had duly taken their position. Only one Death Eater didn't accept Severus answer immediately, distrustful of everyone he didn't know. By showing the Dark Mark on his false arm, Severus could appease him at last. 

Using the opportunity, Severus also asked for details about the battle plan on the pretence of checking that everyone knew their assigned duties. This tactic earned him the knowledge that the attack was about to begin at six in the morning, that the Death Eaters had instructed their own children to stay in the Slytherin common room, that no Death Eater was allowed to harm anyone in there, and that they were free to kill everyone else who refused to join the Dark Lord's forces. 

By the time Severus arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, night had fully fallen. Severus took off the white mask that shone conspicuously in the moonlight, and fastened it to his belt again, the front facing inwards. Under cover of darkness, he hurried stealthily across the grounds to Hagrid's hut. 

Hagrid was overjoyed to get his beloved boarhound back unscathed and didn't press on when Severus didn't respond to his question of what had taken them so long. 

"When you're finished with feeding Fang, come to the staffroom," Severus instructed him and went on. 

Back in the castle, Severus was just closing the large oak front doors when he heard someone cry, "Expelliarmus!" behind his back. 

More than once, his quick reflexes had saved his neck. Again, they kicked in instantly. Even before his mind had processed the meaning of the word, it had recognized the aggressive tone, and with a swift move, Severus jumped aside to dodge the spell. At the same time, he pulled his wand from his cloak and sent a Stunning Spell in the direction of the voice. At last, he whirled around to see who had ambushed him. 

Quirinus Quirrell stood at the landing of the white marble staircase and leaned heavily on the bannister, groaning with pain. He hadn't been able to block the stunner completely and seemed to be close to passing out. Severus couldn't help but appreciate that Quirrell had managed to react to his counter at all, and was still conscious, albeit barely. 

When the professor recognized Severus, who had his wand trained on him, he called breathlessly, "Severus, no! It's me, Quirinus!" 

"Why did you attack me?" Severus asked sharply without lowering his wand. 

"I just saw someone enter who was wearing a Death Eater cloak," Quirrell answered. He took a deep breath and straightened up a bit. The effect of Severus' stunner seemed to slowly wear off. "I didn't immediately recognize you, Severus. I'm sorry." 

Then, all of a sudden, Quirrell's mouth dropped open, eyes bulging in shock, and he asked, "Merlin's beard, Severus, did I injure you?" He stared at the Death Eater's arm that Severus had dropped so that it wouldn't impair his mobility. 

"Of course not," Severus snapped. "You'd have had to hit me first." He pushed his left arm out through the sleeve of the cloak, which Quirrell acknowledged with a very relieved expression. 

At this moment, Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall came rushing into the entrance hall. Severus' Stunning Spell had been much more powerful than the hexes that quarrelling students used to fling at each other. And it was past curfew anyway. Their duel had set an alarm off, which had called the headmaster and his deputy on the scene. 

When Minerva saw Snape and Quirrell, she breathed, clutching her chest, "Thank Merlin, it's not yet the Death Eaters. For a second, I feared the attack had begun." 

"What is going on here?" the headmaster demanded to know. "Why are you two duelling?" 

"Just a misunderstanding. I didn't recognize Severus." Quirrell tried to explain. 

"Why are you costumed like this anyway?" Minerva asked with a disapproving glance at Severus' cloak and the mask dangling from his belt. "You don't plan to infiltrate the Death Eaters, do you? You wouldn't survive that." 

"Actually, Minerva, I already did," Severus answered gravely. "And I've got bad news." 

He turned to Dumbledore. "You should summon a staff meeting. Now." 

* * *

While they were waiting for all the teachers and support staff to arrive in the staffroom, Albus Dumbledore conjured a tray laden with sandwiches from the kitchens. Severus, who had missed dinner, generously helped himself, not being perturbed in the slightest that he was the only one. He had placed the Death Eater cloak and mask, and the Death Eaters' arm in the middle of the long conference table. Everyone sitting down cast an uncomfortable look at it, immediately losing any appetite for sandwiches. 

Finally, every chair at the table was occupied and Severus recounted his encounter with the Death Eaters. The staff was shocked to hear that the attack would begin so soon. Quirrell demanded to know what Severus had done in the Forbidden Forest at this time of day, but Dumbledore blocked all questions in this direction. He claimed that it was no one's business but his and Severus'. Quirrell wasn't thrilled about being left in the dark, but he respected the headmaster's wish. 

Severus was greatly relieved that Dumbledore had decided to keep the affair with the alternate reality and Severus' efforts to undo it a secret. He wasn't really keen to find out how Quirrell would react upon learning that Severus worked on taking him back into his grave. 

During the next hour, they refined their defence plans, discussed what could be done now and what should better wait until the next morning, and how to distribute the potions Severus had prepared. Even though they knew that the attack should begin at six o'clock, they decided to set up guards to watch out for any unusual activity. The task was assigned to the school ghosts as they didn't need to sleep anyway. 

All students who were already of age would be informed about the attack immediately after the meeting as they were needed for defending Hogwarts. They should go to bed fully clothed in order to be ready to fight at shortest notice. The sixth-year students who weren't of age yet would be informed as well because they should oversee the evacuation of their younger schoolmates at the break of dawn. They agreed to let all other students sleep, there was no use in worrying them until it was time to leave. 

When the potions were mentioned, Severus remembered with a pang about Hermione Granger. She was probably still in his office, taking care of the cauldrons. Dinner time had passed long since and he suspected she hadn't left the cauldrons for getting herself something to eat. 

After the end of the meeting, the Heads of House set off to the common rooms of their Houses to inform their sixth- and seventh-year students. Professor Sinistra went to Slytherin House because Severus wanted to get back to his office, finishing as many potions as possible in the short time left. As Sinistra turned to leave, Severus told her to keep an eye on the students with known or suspected Death Eater parents, and to make sure they were evacuated even if they were of age, lest they interfere with the upcoming fight. Then he took the tray with the remaining sandwiches and headed down to the dungeons. 

He hesitated for a second before opening the door to his office, wondering what had happened while he had been away. Nightmare scenarios flashed through his mind in quick succession - but what he finally saw he wouldn't have imagined in his wildest phantasies. 

A tremendous heat prevailed in the office, emanating from six fires in a circle. On top of the fires were six cauldrons, which simmered, hissed, and bubbled along. A strange smell hung in the air that had been formed by a mix of vapours from six different potions in the making. Hermione Granger stood in the centre, covered in sweat. Strands of her bushy hair had escaped the bun on the back of her head and stuck to the sides of her face. She had taken off her robes, only wearing a shirt and a skirt - and even this seemed to be too much in this heat, proved by large sweat spots on her shirt. 

When Severus entered the room, she poured something in one cauldron, then quickly stirred another one, and then lowered the heat on the third. She didn't notice his presence until he cleared his throat. 

"Good evening, Miss Granger." 

"Good evening, Professor Snape!" she answered. Seeing his questioningly arched brow, she quickly explained, "You said it's important to finish the potions as soon as possible, so I set up three more cauldrons. I hope you don't mind." 

She hurried to the next cauldron, added a few ingredients, and stirred furiously. 

"In two hours, the last potion should be finished," she added without looking up. 

Severus inspected the contents of the cauldrons and the freshly filled bottles on the shelf and found nothing to criticise. Her work fully met his own high standards for a potion. For a while, he watched her bustle about the cauldrons, adding something here, muttering a spell there, and checking on a spurtle that was stirring a potion on its own. 

All of a sudden, he felt old. It had taken all the concentration he could muster to keep up with three potions brewing in parallel. And here was Miss Granger, sixteen years old, not even at her mental peak yet, easily managing six cauldrons at the same time. 

He remembered that he had brought sandwiches. "I don't suppose you went to dinner, Miss Granger?" 

Granger shook her head. "Is it time already?" 

"Dinner time's over for hours. It's almost eleven." 

The girl turned around to cast a disbelieving look at the wall clock above his desk. "Oh. Totally forgot the time." 

"That's what I thought," Severus said and held out the sandwiches to her. "Leftovers from the staff meeting," he explained. 

"Tomorrow's going to be a hell of a day..." And while she bottled, corked, and labeled another finished potion, he informed her about the soon-to-begin Death Eater attack. 

Granger was indeed hungry and had finished off the tray in no time. Severus offered to conjure more but she politely refused. For a while, they worked in silence on the remaining five potions. 

When Severus bottled the next finished potion, Granger suddenly asked out of the blue, "And were you successful?" 

Severus had no clue what she meant, and apparently it showed on his face. 

"Well, whatever business led you away from Hogwarts today," she elaborated. 

He shook his head and sighed. "No, that was a total flop." More to himself, he added despondently, "And if we lose the battle against the Death Eaters tomorrow, I'll have the students and professors of Hogwarts on my conscience." 

"Why?" Granger asked. "What did you do?" 

Seeing his stony face, she quickly backpedaled, "Excuse me Sir, I didn't mean to pry." She bent over a cauldron and surveyed its contents with an intent gaze. 

Severus surprised himself when he said, "Actually, I don't mind. Maybe you have an idea that didn't occur to me..." And for the second time he related his encounter with the Leprechaun and its consequences to an attentive listener. While he described the encounter itself in great detail, he remained vague about his wish. He also mentioned his unsuccessful search for Sipp and finished with the question, "Well, Miss Granger, as you always seem to know everything - how would you try to find Sipp?" 

He didn't really expect an answer, but she quickly disabused him of this assumption. "Well, of course I wouldn't look in the Forbidden Forest." 

"You wouldn't? You think he already returned home? Well, Ireland is big - I'll never find him there." 

"No no!" Granger shook impatiently her head. "In this course of events, you never saved him from the eagle. That's why it makes no sense to look in the Forbidden Forest. If no one else saved him, the eagle has him. -- I mean, that's the logical conclusion, right?" 

Severus thought about her reasoning. He had to concede it was sound. 

"Means I have no chance of ever undoing that wish because the eagle ate him," he deducted. 

"He could still be alive," Granger objected. "The eagle didn't kill Sipp as soon as it caught him. It carried him away alive. It could very well be that it took him to his nest. Maybe it wasn't hungry. Maybe it keeps Sipp somewhere, as reserve for later. Or --" 

"Or it fed him to his eaglets." Severus said pessimistically. 

And again, Granger objected. "Not, if it was the Golden Eagle who's nesting in the mountains north of Hogwarts, the one that you can see from the Astronomy Tower. It has no partner and no chicks." 

"How do you know this?" 

"I watch it from time to time. Sometimes I wish I could ascend into the sky and fly away from everything, just as the eagle. If you align the telescope on top of the tower exactly to the north you can see its eyrie." Suddenly she realized that she confided very personal information to the Potions master and sheepishly chewed on her lower lip. 

Severus himself was also stunned about the course his evening had taken. Granger was just a student, one of the notorious Gryffindors to boot, and he discussed his troubles with her. Treated her almost like an equal. And what surprised him the most - it seemed to be fruitful. She might be onto something. 

"So, what do you think why this eagle caught Sipp, if not for food?" 

"Well, it's not an ordinary eagle." She took a deep breath and assumed her typical lecturing posture. "It, or better she, is an Animagus. When we had Animagi in third year, I looked up the Animagus Register for my homework, and it lists a witch, Celia Altaires, who can transform into a Golden Eagle. Her special marking is a white patch on her head - and I've seen it through the telescope. I'm pretty sure it's her. 

"I did a bit of research on her - apparently she's always been a loner. Soon after she got registered she withdrew completely from the wizarding community. Maybe she's happier as an eagle, maybe she doesn't like other wizards - who knows. And perhaps she caught Sipp because she wanted him to grant her a wish, or because she wanted some company, or whatever. In any case, there's a good chance that Sipp's still alive, and maybe he's still with her." 

Severus turned to a cauldron that was ready to be emptied. As he had done so many times already today, he bottled, corked, and labeled the potion, but his mind was still with the Animagus, wondering what she could possibly want from the Leprechaun. 

As soon as there was daylight again, he'd go up the Astronomy Tower and look for the eagle's nest. New hope formed in his chest that he might be able to clean up this mess after all. 

Like Miss Granger had predicted, two hours after his return to his office the last two potions were finished. Each of them filled a glass bottle and labeled it. Then Severus muttered a spell that vanished all cauldrons and the fires underneath. 

"I'll inform the headmaster that the potions are ready to be distributed. You should leave, it was a long day, and tomorrow won't be easy either. -- Oh, and could you take some of each potion with you to Gryffindor Tower and give it to your House mates? And then you should go to sleep." 

Hermione Granger nodded and filled a couple of smaller bottles from the large stock. When she was about to leave, Severus stopped her. "Miss Granger, today you did excellent work here. Even at the risk of it not having any importance after tomorrow, I award fifty points to Gryffindor." 

Speechless, Granger stared at him, not quite believing her ears. She muttered a quick "Thank you, Sir," and hastened out of the office, before the Potions master could change his mind and deduct the points again.


	5. Fighting for Hogwarts

It was a very short night. By the time every student who wanted to stay and fight had got their share of the potions it was already two in the morning. All of Hogwarts staff was provided with the same assortment of potions as the students, and Madam Pomfrey stocked up the infirmary with the healing potions and ointments that Severus sent to her. Many couldn't sleep anyway - they were way too anxious about the upcoming battle. 

When the big clock in the entrance hall showed ten minutes past six in the morning, Nearly Headless Nick, who had been keeping watch on top of the Astronomy Tower, raised the alarm. 

"They're coming!" he called out, his voice magically amplified. "Emerging in droves from the Forbidden Forest! And more are coming from Hogsmeade!" 

This meant the Death Eaters had finally broken the barrier fencing off the Forbidden Forest from Hogwarts that had been implemented in a hurry last night. It had cost the attackers ten minutes, but it was only the first of several surprises waiting for them, as they realized while trying to cross the lawn in front of the castle. 

Catapult Charms were hidden in the ground that hurled every Death Eater who stepped on one far away. Quirrell had had this idea when Severus had mentioned the Anti-Apparition Charms surrounding Hogwarts. The catapults flung their victims about two miles away, and because of the barrier, they couldn't Apparate right back. 

The grass was also littered with traps that exploded, dished out painful shock waves, or turned out to be Portkeys transporting anyone who touched them to Merlin knew where. 

Meanwhile, the Death Eaters coming from Hogsmeade had managed to break through the iron gates and enter Hogwarts grounds as well. Warned by the fate of their widely visible flying mates they used the Revealing Charm to scan for hidden magic before doing a step forward. This slowed them down considerably but they didn't lose anyone else on their way up to the castle. 

While all these measures didn't hold the Death Eaters forever, they bought the people inside Hogwarts enough time to get ready for the battle. The older students could take their potions and have a quick breakfast that the house elves had provided in the common rooms. The younger students were evacuated through the secret passage behind the statue of the one-eyed witch leading to the cellar of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. At the staff meeting, there had been discussions if the students shouldn't be evacuated immediately, but as there were most likely Death Eaters in Hogsmeade they finally agreed on evacuating the students as late as possible. They didn't want the enemy to know that they were warned, after all. 

Once the Death Eaters had managed to break through the charms that protected the large oak front doors of Hogwarts castle, they found themselves facing an army comprising of the stone statues and suits of armour that usually decorated the wall decks and corridors of Hogwarts. Unsusceptible to most curses and hexes, the larger statues crushed the Death Eaters with their weight. The smaller ones engaged the intruders in a fight until the human-sized statues and suits of armours grabbed them and dragged them outside where they dropped them on the Catapult Charms. 

By the time that all statues were blasted into rubble and all suits of armour were blown to tiny pieces, the Death Eaters' numbers were reduced by half. The rest showed their dismay by using the most reckless and unnecessarily cruel curses in the fight against professors and students. 

Hogwarts' defenders fought bravely and the Death Eaters noticed soon that they could forget about a lot of their usual spells because they just didn't have much of an effect. In the beginning, they had used the Killing Curse only sparsely because they didn't want to risk hitting their mates in the fray. But when their usual curses proved mostly useless, they began to aim more accurately and killing the students one by one. 

The Death Eaters themselves, however, had to take significant losses as well. Severus was also familiar with the Killing Curse. Soon, he started to kill his opponents instead of only stunning them. That way, they couldn't wake up and re-join the battle. 

At first, he had received disapproving glares from the other professors, but soon they realized the extensive bloodshed among their students. Under such circumstances, they decided to use all possible means as well. Severus was a bit surprised how many professors were able to cast a Killing Curse successfully. And the students also soon discarded any qualms and fought tooth and nail. 

In the narrow and winding corridors, the Death Eaters couldn't exploit their numerical superiority, and their advance grinded slowly to a halt. For a while, it even looked like the defenders would gradually gain back territory. 

While the battle raged on, Severus tried to get to the Astronomy Tower. It was bright daylight now and he wanted to have a look through the telescope on top of the tower to find the eyrie. The sight of so many dead students and teachers in Hogwarts' corridors was steadily strengthening his resolve. He would find Sipp and clear up this mess or die trying. 

When he reached the entrance to the tower, he slipped in and locked the door behind himself with a bar and protective charms. He wanted to avoid in any case to be ambushed while gazing through the telescope. 

A few minutes later, he stood behind the telescope and gasped for breath after running up all the stairs to the top of the tower. His right knee was hurting from a nasty hex, and it hadn't gotten any better from the strain of climbing stairs. While Severus was waiting for his panting to calm down, he took a swig from a vial of pain-relieving potion. Finally, he had caught his breath so that he was able to look through the telescope without the image jumping wildly back and forth. He aligned the telescope exactly to the north, to the mountains on the horizon. It didn't take long until he found the nest. The Golden Eagle had just taken off and was rising higher and higher into the sky. And for a tiny moment, Severus thought he might have seen movement in the empty nest. He intensely stared through the telescope until his eyes began to water, but he couldn't spot any motion again. 

The nest was located at the very top of a high mountain, a place that was inaccessible by foot. As he couldn't Apparate, he would have to take a broom, at least until he'd left the perimeter of the Anti-Apparition Charms. He hoped the flight wouldn't take too much time and quickly descended the stairs. 

Just when he had opened the door at the base of the tower, ready to re-join the fray on his way to the broom shed, a gigantic explosion shook the castle. Startled, many fighters paused and tried to discern what had happened. But there was nothing to see - no ceilings came tumbling down, no walls fell in, and no sand trickled down from above - and everyone quickly returned their attention to the fight at hand. 

Only a heavy iron torch holder on the inner tower wall, old and already loose, was affected by the short shaking of the walls and finally gave in to the constant pull of gravity. Before it landed with a loud clatter on the floor, it hit the back of Severus' head hard. First, it caused him a searing pain in his head, and then a deep unconsciousness. 

* * *

"He's coming round." 

"Thank Merlin, I was afraid he'd also died." 

"This is Snape, he's not so easily killed." 

When Severus slowly regained consciousness he could hear voices mumble not far from him. It sounded as if they were talking about him. 

With an effort, he pried his eyes open, trying in vain to ignore the throbbing headache. The first thing he saw was Albus Dumbledore, who was standing slightly bent over Severus, feeling for his pulse. 

"Severus, how are you? Can you get up?" the headmaster asked him. 

Severus tried to sit up, but the headache was impairing his sense of balance and the movement caused a wave of nausea wash over him. Not good, he thought miserably. A concussion was the last thing he needed now. 

"Here, drink this!" Dumbledore gently ordered him and put a small bottle into Severus' hand. 

Obediently, Severus swallowed the potion. It tasted very bitter, with an almost imperceptible fennel aroma. A healing potion, he realized. His conclusion was confirmed shortly after, when the headache from hell and the nausea slowly abated. 

Cautiously, Severus sat up and looked around. He was on the top of the Astronomy Tower, together with three other professors and about thirty students, most of them underage. Down below, he could hear curses crash into the base of the tower. Apparently, the entrance had been locked and the Death Eaters were trying to break down the door. 

"What happened?" Severus asked with foreboding. 

"I'm afraid we've lost," the headmaster said gravely. "Most of the students and staff are dead. The students here with us are the only ones who have not defected to Lord Voldemort and are still alive." 

"But they're too young to fight. Why weren't they evacuated?" 

"Oh, they were," Dumbledore sighed. "There were Death Eaters keeping guard in Hogsmeade, and they soon discovered the students arriving in Honeyduke's cellar. The Death Eaters caused the tunnel to cave in and many students were buried alive. The few who made it out of the tunnel alive on our end are the ones you see here." 

Severus let his gaze wander over the sad rest of Hogwarts faculty and student body. Besides him and Albus Dumbledore, the only professors left were Minerva McGonagall and Quirinus Quirrell. They were busy comforting the few students and healing small injuries. Granger was nowhere to be seen. Severus wondered whether she had been in the tunnel when it had caved in. He recognized one of his Slytherins, a fourth year girl who put a consoling arm around the shoulders of a crying little boy in Hufflepuff robes. At last, the barriers between the different Houses had fallen. Right now, they were just scared students facing an overwhelming enemy. 

"But before I passed out, it looked like we would push them back. What turned the tables again?" Severus asked. 

"Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore answered, rubbing absentmindedly his shoulder. "At first, he only gave commands from a safe distance, letting his Death Eaters do the dirty work. But when we stopped them, he joined the fight. He entered Hogwarts castle and opened the Chamber of Secrets. He unleashed the monster that dwells inside - a Basilisk, as it turned out." 

Severus could smack himself in frustration. He had known about the basilisk, should have realized that it was still alive because Harry Potter didn't exist, but he had not thought of informing Dumbledore about it. 

"Thanks to Longbottom's Potion, the students and staff didn't drop dead when meeting its gaze - they merely fell unconscious. But no one was immune against its venomous fangs and its crushing tail. The serpent killed a great number of students before Professor Quirrell could finally defeat it by holding up a mirror to it. When it beheld its own reflection, its murderous stare killed itself," Dumbledore continued his account. 

"Its death angered Lord Voldemort more than anything, and he shook the very foundations of the castle. Turrets and ceilings collapsed, windows shattered, and many were buried under the rubble. It took all my powers to keep the castle walls standing upright until the last survivors could take refuge in the Astronomy Tower - where we also found you." 

Another loud bang shook the tower. A part of the battlement broke off and fell to the ground. 

"I have stabilized the tower walls and we have barricaded ourselves here, but it is only a question of time until they manage to blast open the door below." Dumbledore sighed. "You probably can imagine what will happen then." 

Dumbledore led Severus a few steps away from the others. "You are our only hope," he whispered. "If you don't find this Leprechaun, then by tomorrow, Hogwarts will not be anymore." 

"I have an idea where he is," Severus told the headmaster. "I need a broom to get there." 

Dumbledore shook his head. The hopeful twinkle that had flashed up in his blue eyes vanished again. "No chance. Did you hear the first explosion?" 

When Severus nodded, Dumbledore elaborated, "It was the broom shed. A student had tried to fly out his injured friend. The Death Eaters brought him down, and then blew up the broom shed to make sure no one else attempts the same." 

"What about the student's private brooms?" 

"Have all been collected and destroyed." 

Severus scratched his head. He had to find another means of transportation, then. "Could you create another Portkey?" he asked Dumbledore. 

"I could but it wouldn't take you anywhere. When so many Death Eaters were transported away, Lord Voldemort erected another barrier that stops all Portkeys." 

"They really want to make sure that no one gets away," Severus muttered despondently. Well, he wouldn't give up. If all else failed, he'd walk out of Hogwarts as far as needed until he could Apparate again. Or he could step on one of the Catapult Charms... 

"There is one other option. I've been thinking about it for a while. It is not optimal, but we don't have many alternatives left," Dumbledore said pensively. 

"I could revoke the Anti-Apparition enchantment that's protecting Hogwarts. Lord Voldemort's barrier only covers the area surrounding Hogwarts, not the school itself. You could Disapparate right here." 

"But if you remove this protection, the Death Eaters will be up here in no time." 

"They will come anyway, sooner or later. And if you are successful, we will not die. This battle will not take place at all." 

Severus had to admit that the headmaster was right. The battle was lost, countless lives were lost too - the only way to win now was to make sure there was no battle in the first place. Grudgingly, he concurred. 

"It is decided then, I'll disable the charm" Dumbledore said. "But I should warn Minerva and Quirinus first that we will have unwelcome visitors here soon." 

Dumbledore walked over to the two professors and talked quietly to them. 

Minerva gave him a horrified look, vigorously shaking her head. "Albus, no! That would be suicide!" she sharply retorted. 

At the vehement words, the students turned their heads and looked at the professors inquisitively. Dumbledore didn't seem to be bothered by this sudden attention and spoke calmly to her, "Let's say I still have an ace up my sleeve. To play it, Apparition must be possible." 

Quirrell objected as well. "Apparition? Only a few of us are able to do so. You don't suggest we flee and abandon the younger students, do you? I certainly won't!" 

Suddenly, Severus saw Quirinus Quirrell in a completely new light. In his memory, Quirrell had been a wimpy, stuttering traitor. But this hadn't been the true Quirrell; it had been a wizard who was possessed by the Dark Lord, forced under his thrall. If Severus should indeed manage to succeed with his task, then this brave, upright man who put greater value on his students' lives than on his own, would disappear again. Severus began to feel sorry for him. 

"So, what's your plan?" Minerva asked the headmaster, interrupting Severus' thoughts. 

"Please forgive me, Minerva, but I'd rather not tell. I'm asking you for a little more of the faith that you've always put in me." 

Minerva scrutinized Dumbledore with a long, stern look and finally sighed. "Well, then have it your way, Albus. Let's pray that your ace comes up trumps." 

For about a minute, Dumbledore sported a highly concentrated expression, slowly waving his wand. Nothing seemed to be any different when he lowered it again, but he urged Severus, "The enchantment is lifted. No go, before they realize downstairs what's going on." 

Severus inclined his head in acknowledgement, not missing the quizzical looks from the two professors and the students. They probably wondered what Severus alone could do against so many Death Eaters. Without another word, he took his wand from his robes, focused his mind on the eagle's nest, and Disapparated. 

* * *

When he arrived at his destination, he was once more grateful for his quick reflexes. Severus had landed on a thin ledge that instantly broke off under his weight. Before he gained too much momentum on his slide down a steep cliff, though, his fingers slipped into a crack. Clinging to it with all his strength, he could stop his descend. Several rocks he had broken loose plunged into the depths. If he hadn't caught the crack, he would have followed the rocks, hit the ground deep down below, and all hopes for a happy end would have died with him. 

The good news was that he was still alive. The bad news was that he had let go of his wand in order to seize the crack with both hands. 

He discovered another, sturdier looking ledge just about two feet to his left. Slowly moving his fingers along the crack, he managed to reach the ledge and clamber on top of it. When he was finally standing safely on the rack, he looked around. 

The ledge he was standing on belonged to a stone rock needle that ended about six feet above his head and was capped with the eagle's nest. Around him, there were many more rock needles, sitting like giant stingers on the ridge of the mountain. The smallest ones were about twice the height of a man, and the largest one, home of the eyrie, matched the height of the Astronomy Tower. 

Severus couldn't look into the nest above him, so he couldn't determine whether the eagle was at home or not. The nest had a diameter of six or seven yards and looked like it could easily support the weight of a man like him. Climbing up there didn't seem like a good idea, though. There were no other ledges, only small cracks in the vertical rock face between him and the nest. He didn't have any climbing equipment either and he wouldn't know how to use it anyway. So, firstly, he would need his wand back. Then, he could Apparate into the nest. 

The problem was - he could summon almost everything as long as he had a wand. His wandless summoning skills were much more limited - the object had to be in plain sight, and he had no idea where his wand had fallen. 

When he peered down the cliff, looking for his wand, he was suddenly greeted by a croaky, familiar voice. 

"You again? What do you want from old Sipp? Are you stalking me?" 

Severus looked upwards to the source of the unfriendly words. Relief washed over him when he recognized the Leprechaun he had been searching for so desperately. Sipp leaned over the edge of the eagle's nest and looked down at him. 

"You wretched little gnome!" Severus spat at him, venting off all the anger he had pent up over the last two days. "You created a terrible mess! You fulfilled a wish that I didn't want you to! Undo it, at once!" 

Sipp quickly estimated the distance between him and Severus and then answered smugly, "First: I'm a Leprechaun, not a gnome. And second: Why should I do this? I've settled my debt towards you! And that's why old Sipp won't do what you want." 

But Severus wouldn't be put off that easily. 

"If I save your life once more, you'll have to grant me another wish. Is this correct?" 

Defiantly, Sipp looked back at Severus. "It is. But you cannot save my life." 

"Oh yes, I can. I'll get you out of this nest before the eagle comes back and eats you. Then you owe me a wish, and I wish to take back my former wish." 

"Pah! I owe you nothing. The eagle won't eat me or harm me otherwise. Therefore, there's no danger with me. No deadly peril - no rescue - no wish." 

Severus snorted angrily. "Wait until I've got my wand back! I'll come up to you and throw you out of the nest! When I catch you before you hit the ground, I've saved your life." 

Sipp shook his head triumphantly. "Nope! That's not allowed. You cannot imperil myself just to have me rescued. It's not that easy to get a wish!" 

"And knowing you, you won't turn a blind eye and simply help me? Or maybe in exchange for something you want?" 

"Of course not! Even if I wanted, I wouldn't be allowed to. We Leprechauns have been abiding by these ancient rules for aeons." Sipp turned his eyes away from Severus, chin held high, making it clear that he deemed any more discussion futile. 

Severus irritably gnashed his teeth. That gnome - no, that Leprechaun - was a hard nut to crack. And he managed to annoy Severus no end. He didn't even try to calm his voice when he called after Sipp, "Well, then I'll just throw you down. You can bet if I don't get my old life back, you won't have one either! It's your choice! -- Which is more than you allowed me!" 

Severus didn't hear Sipp's answer, though. Instead, he heard someone cry, " _Expelliarmus!_ " behind his back and quickly gripped a thick root that protruded from the rock face. As he didn't have a wand, he couldn't be disarmed, but he was hit by an invisible force that would have sent him tumbling off the narrow ledge if he hadn't held on tight. 

"Well, look who's ventured out of Hogwarts!" his attacker said in mocked surprise. "Where's your wand, Snape? You didn't climb up here without it, did you? Don't tell me you lost it!" 

Severus turned slowly around until he faced the voice, carefully heeding each step and not letting go of the root. A Death Eater stood on top of another rock needle, about four yards away from him. Not much chance to reach him there, he thought gloomily. 

He had heard this voice before, and when the Death Eater took off his mask, Severus' suspicion was confirmed. It was Mulciber, one of his former friends at school, who became a Death Eater right out of Hogwarts. With some surprise, Severus noted that he wore a patch over his left eye. 

"Look at that -- Severus Snape, alone and unarmed, on a silver platter, so to speak. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for this," Mulciber sneered. 

Severus analysed his situation and reached a devastating conclusion. Mulciber had a wand, he didn't. He didn't even know where it was. And he certainly couldn't count on any help from Sipp. He would have to stand here and listen to Mulciber's scorn, and when Mulciber was finished deriding him, he would probably kill him. 

"My, are we closed-lipped today! Come on, talk to me!" Mulciber went on, obviously enjoying himself. "I wonder what's more fun - to snuff you out with a Killing Curse, or to give you a shove and watch you plunge to death? What do you think?" After a short pause, he added, "Or maybe I should ask the little Leprechaun up there?" 

"No idea what you're talking about." From the corner of his eye, Severus saw Sipp clandestinely pulling his head back into the nest. 

Mulciber laughed. "No need to deny why you're here, Snape. I know everything. It's quite amazing how forthcoming people are if you motivate them properly." Mulciber's mouth twisted into a leer. 

"After looking for you all over Hogwarts in vain, I was quite happy to find someone who could tell me where I'd find you." 

Severus couldn't imagine that Albus Dumbledore would give away anything. He would certainly rather die. Apart from him, there was only one other person who knew the entire story. 

"What did you do to Miss Granger, scumbag?" Severus thundered. 

"Oi, what a strong reaction! Maybe I didn't do anything else than you?" Mulciber grinned and made an obscene gesture. 

"She's a student and I'd never even think of touching her! And if you did, I'll make you regret it!" 

Mulciber's grin grew wider and wider. "Ahh, I tremble with fear!" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You realize that you have no wand, right? That you're at my complete mercy, so to say?" 

Severus was well aware of this fact. All through their conversation, he had swept unobtrusively his surroundings with his eyes, looking for his wand. Without success so far, unfortunately. 

Ignoring Severus' silence, Mulciber went on, "As for you and the Mudblood - you spent half of last night together, I've heard. And she seemed quite worried about you. She actually came into your office looking for you. Doesn't look like an ordinary student teacher relationship to me." Mulciber tsked in mock disapproval. 

Severus took a deep breath, willing himself to keep calm. Mulciber tried to provoke him - and Severus should be smart enough to not fall for his cheap tricks. If Mulciber had used Veritaserum to draw information from Granger, he'd know that his allegations were wrong. And if he'd used some other means, if he really believed they were having an illicit affair - why should Severus care about Mulciber's assumptions? 

If Mulciber drew sick pleasure from Severus trying to explain himself, from seeing him struggle to keep his reputation clean - well, he wouldn't do Mulciber this favour. 

"Think what you want, I don't care," Severus brushed him off. 

But Mulciber was obviously having way too much fun trying to elicit another outburst from Severus and went on, "Too bad she was a filthy little Mudblood. I'd loved to keep her as a toy, but the Dark Lord doesn't allow that these vermin sully the wizarding world by their mere existence any longer." He drew a theatrical sigh. "If she only had at least _one_ magical parent..." 

Don't let him provoke you, don't let him provoke you, Severus silently repeated like a mantra. 

"A waste, really." Mulciber shrugged his shoulders, clearly showing that he didn't regret the _waste_ at all. "You know what, Snape, she reminded me a lot of your other Mudblood friend. When I was done with Granger, she was in a state very much like Evans. And killing her was just as much fun!" 

Mulciber wanted to provoke him? Okay, he had achieved his goal. Severus snorted angrily and pushed himself off the ledge, jumping as high and far as he could. But he never knew whether he would have reached the platform on which Mulciber stood. 

Despite his carefree appearance, Mulciber had been vigilant and had kept his wand trained at Severus all the time. When Severus jumped, Mulciber intercepted him with ease. Laughing maliciously, he held Severus dangling in the air right between the rock needles. 

Abruptly, he dropped Severus. Just before he hit the ground far below, Mulciber stopped the plunge and lifted him up again. He repeated this game for a few times, but soon he got bored with it because after a short, startled cry at the first drop, Severus had stayed silent. 

Severus was busy hiding the nausea that stemmed from his stomach giving a lurch every time he was being dropped. And he wasn't willing to entertain Mulciber, so he made an effort not to let out as much as a gasp. 

When Mulciber lowered him on top of another high rock needle, he kept his expression carefully blank, not showing any of the turmoil inside him. He was angry with Mulciber for boasting about his killings, he was angry with himself for losing his temper, he still felt nausea, and also a tinge of relief about not being dead yet. But the strongest of all feelings, the one he masked most thoroughly, was the joy over having finally discovered his wand. It was stuck in a narrow gap between two adjacent rocks, and impossible to see from his former location. 

Fresh hope welled up inside him. All he had to do now was to stall for time and wait for an opportune moment to summon his wand without Mulciber noticing. 

And without knowing it, Mulciber played right into Severus' hands. 

"You didn't think it'd be over that quickly, did you?" Mulciber said. "Well, before I finish you off, I'm going to reclaim my eye from the Leprechaun, so I can better watch you pegging out." 

"The Leprechaun won't give you your eye back. He's rather stingy with his wishes." Severus informed his adversary. 

He wouldn't have thought it possible, but Mulciber's grin grew even wider. 

"Why, but you helped me to receive one! You threatened to throw him out of the nest. If I hadn't lifted you away from that ledge, you'd certainly have climbed up into the nest sooner or later. I prevented this, therefore I saved him. And now he owes me a wish." Mulciber looked at the eyrie and called, "Tell him I'm right!" 

Sipp slowly raised his head above the nest wall. He looked at Mulciber, then at Severus. "Hmm, yes, he's right. You shouldn't have been so mean to me. And don't tell me it was just an empty threat. I could sense that you really meant it." 

Severus cursed silently. Instead of getting his own wish undone, he had helped Mulciber to get a wish of his own. 

Mulciber cast Severus a triumphant look. "It's only fair, I'd say. The Dark Lord took my eye because of you, and now I'll get it back because of you." 

Mulciber lost his eye to the Dark Lord? That would explain why it hadn't been replaced, Severus thought. The Dark Lord would make sure a punishment couldn't be overturned easily. Severus wondered what Mulciber had done to displease the Dark Lord. And why he was blaming Severus for it. 

To keep the conversation going, he teased, "Come on, Mulciber, why should it be my fault that you can't keep your master happy?" 

"Because he wanted you, and I promised I would see to it that you join the Death Eaters. But you adamantly refused my attempts to recruit you for our cause. And the Dark Lord took my eye because I _didn't see to it_." The memory of it managed to dampen Mulciber's extremely good mood, and he clenched his fists crossly. 

Turning to Sipp again, Mulciber demanded, "Well then, show me your magic! I wish to get back my left eye!" In eager anticipation, he took the patch off his eye, revealing an empty eye socket. 

Sipp looked at Mulciber, smirking. "Yeah, sure. Your wish is my command! And believe me, I'm delighted to fulfil it." 

However, his cynical tone of voice didn't bode well. 

The Leprechaun snapped his fingers and one second later Mulciber started to scream furiously. "You wretched, dastardly gnome, what's this supposed to be?" 

Accusingly, he held out his hand, palm upward, on which a bloodied eyeball lay. 

Sipp rolled his eyes. "For heaven's sake, I'm not a gnome! I'm a Leprechaun! Is that so hard to understand?" And with a glance at the eyeball in Mulciber's hand, he added, "This is your left eye. I gave it back to you, just as you wished." 

"But that's not what I meant! I want the eye in my head! I want to SEE with it!" Mulciber's voice almost cracked with rage. 

"I'm sorry, but you've already used up your wish. I can't help you." Sipp started to laugh. "Your friend should have warned you, it's not easy to wish from a Leprechaun, and get what you wanted too. You humans just aren't smart enough to formulate your wishes with sufficient preciseness." 

Mulciber was now visibly boiling with fury. "I make you pay for that!" he cried and Apparated into the eyrie. "Initially, I wanted to let you watch how I take down Snape. But I've changed my mind. You die first!" 

Sipp's expression changed instantly. He cowered against the nest wall, squeaking fearfully, "No, please! Don't kill myself!" He snapped his fingers but produced only a few feeble sparks. He was too frightened to focus properly. 

Mulciber pointed his wand to Sipp's head and began to speak, " _Avada_ ..."


	6. Back to Normality

Mulciber pointed his wand to Sipp's head and began to speak, _"Avada_ ..." 

Before he could finish casting the Killing Curse, however, he was hit by a red flash. Unconsciously, he toppled over the edge of the eyrie and fell to the ground, where he lay still with shattered bones. 

* * *

Severus hadn't been idle during Mulciber's vociferous dispute with Sipp about his eye. Quietly, he had summoned his wand from the gap below, and then quickly had pointed it at Mulciber. At the very moment that he had sent a stunner at the raging Death Eater, Mulciber had Apparated into the eagle's nest and the spell missed him. 

In his fury, Mulciber had only paid attention to the Leprechaun, and didn't notice the red flash of light hitting a rock needle a little distance away, blasting off a part of its top. Thus, Severus got a second chance to hex Mulciber, and this time he hit him square in the chest. Actually, he had just planned to incapacitate Mulciber, but he didn't mind when the man plunged to his death. 

"Phew, that was a close one!" Sipp cheered, jumping up and down with joy. "You saved my life again! Now you can make your wish. -- I hope that means you don't want to throw me down there anymore, do you? Old Sipp has had enough excitement for one day." 

Severus Apparated into the eyrie and squatted down in front of the Leprechaun, fixing his gaze on him. 

"Before I make a wish," Severus said slowly, "I'd like to ask you a few questions. Just want to make sure I understand everything correctly." 

Sipp didn't seem too thrilled about having to wait again for Severus' wish. He'd probably rather be done and over with it. "Okay, ask away, but make it quick." 

Severus put on a contemplative expression when he spoke. "Earlier, you said the eagle wouldn't eat you. What makes you think that?" 

"Because she's my friend. And friends don't eat each other. -- By the way, she was much more understanding than you when I told her I couldn't grant her a wish." 

"So you know she's a witch, not a real bird of prey, who only assumed the shape of an eagle?" 

Sipp nodded eagerly. "I do, I do! I can't tell you how relieved I was when Celia transformed and told me that she didn't catch me to eat me. We've talked for hours. Hard to believe she's actually human. She's so much nicer than you." 

"Oh, thank you for the flowers," Severus replied, but the irony was completely lost on Sipp. "And where is she, by the way?" 

"She's looking for a four-leaf clover. I need one to get home. Four-leaf clovers are full of powerful magic and Leprechauns use them for travelling long distances. -- But that's enough chatting. Now go ahead and make your wish." Sipp couldn't hide his impatience any longer. 

But Severus wasn't in a hurry. "Not so fast. If she never planned to eat you, then you haven't been in any real danger until Mulciber and I turned up here." 

"Exactly! You humans are terrible nuisances. That's why we Leprechauns usually stay away from you." 

"But in this case, I didn't really save you two days ago when I took you down from the sky. In this case, you broke your own rules when you fulfilled my wish. You said it yourself: No deadly peril - no rescue - no wish." 

Sipp's face suddenly drained of all colour. "Dear me, you're right! -- That's never occurred to me! Ohh, that's not good. Not at all!" The Leprechaun's voice was suddenly choked with despair. "The elders will strip me of all my magical powers when they learn about it. Ohh, poor old Sipp, what have ye done!" 

Severus allowed himself some cautious optimism. He had Sipp right where he wanted him. But he remained on guard nevertheless. "Really, your penalties are that harsh? Even if you try to correct your mistake?" he asked, making an effort to sound sympathetic. 

"How am I supposed to correct this? I screwed up royally! I'm doomed!" The Leprechaun hid his face in his hands. Thick tears trickled between his fingers, creating a growing wet patch on the nest's floor. 

"And if you undo the granting? Make everything the way it would be if you'd never fulfilled the wish? That way, you wouldn't have done any harm. Your elders would have to admit that, after realizing your error, you're honestly trying to fix your mistakes. True remorse and willingness to right your wrongs should count for something." 

Severus would prefer this way by far over wishing everything back to the way it used to be. It had a much better chance of turning out quite according to his mind than any wish, no matter how careful he worded it. 

Sipp looked up at Severus, new hope gleaming up in his eyes. "I think that might work. -- Yeah, definitely, that should work. -- But you still must make a wish, you saved me from that Mulciber bloke." 

Severus groaned inwardly. If he refused, sooner or later another disaster would happen, he was sure. And if he obliged and made a wish, the disaster could happen just as well. He would have to consider his wish _very_ carefully. Maybe he should simply ask for a pot of gold. It would dissolve soon and with it all potential problems the wish could cause. 

At this moment, Severus saw a big bird appear on the horizon. It came closer quickly, and soon Severus could discern the white patch on the eagle's head that Granger had mentioned as special marking of Celia, the Animagus. The sight gave him a better idea. 

"What did Celia actually want from you?" he asked Sipp. 

"She'd love to be a real eagle. Celia doesn't care much for other humans, which I can understand only too well. And assuming the shape of an eagle is not the same as really being one." 

Severus kept a watchful eye on the approaching bird of prey when he asked, "And? Could you do that?" 

"Of course I can. This is much easier than changing history." 

"Well, in this case, I know what I want." At the moment Severus said these words, Celia had reached them. Because she didn't know Severus and what he was doing in her eyrie, she landed on top of another rock needle, at a safe distance to them. From there, she eyed him suspiciously. 

"It's alright, Celia! He won't harm you!" Sipp called out to her. 

Quickly turning to Severus, he insured himself, "You won't, will you?" 

Severus shook his head ostentatiously. He raised his wand so that Celia could see it, and then put it, also clearly visible, back into his robes, finally showing her his empty hands. Celia understood his gesture and arrived at the conclusion that the stranger in her nest probably didn't want to harm her. She spread her wings and flew over to them. 

As soon as her feet touched the eyrie, her long, sharp talons shrank to harmless human toenails. Her shape shifted - body, legs and head stretched whereas the wings shrunk, and her plumage disappeared. Long dark brown hair sprouted from her head, with a single strand of hair turning white instead of brown. Her curved beak disappeared, but her hooked nose with its prominent bridge bore a strong resemblance to it. In the nest's wall was a cavity that Severus hadn't noticed until Celia reached into it. She pulled out an old worn cloak that she quickly put around herself. 

Glancing at Severus with her hazel eyes, she finally greeted him, "Hello. May I ask what you're doing in my nest?" 

"Hello, Miss Altaires," Severus said, noting that she opened her eyes wide in surprise of being addressed by her name. He didn't elaborate how he knew her, though. "I really don't want to intrude into your home, and I'll be gone soon. I only came here to point out to my friend Sipp --" he drew out the word _'friend'_ in a way that clearly stated that he considered Sipp all but a friend, "-- a mistake he made. Now, that he's aware of it and is going to correct it, I won't disturb you any longer." 

He pulled his wand out of his robes, ready to Disapparate, but Sipp nervously butted in, "Stop! Don't forget to make your wish!" 

Severus shook his head. "I certainly won't forget it. But first, you clean up your mess. Only afterwards, I'll tell you my wish. Because if you fulfil it right now, it's all undone tomorrow." 

Sipp muttered disgruntled under his breath, and Severus could make out the words _'pesky human'_ and _'a match for the cleverness of a Leprechaun'_. Finally, Sipp visibly pulled himself together and said with an exasperated sigh, "Okay, if you so wish." 

Casting Severus a defeated look, he added, "I have to return home first. I need the help of the elders to restore history properly. -- Which reminds me, I need a four-leaf clover to get home." 

Celia bent down to Sipp and held something out to him. "Here you are. I looked around a lot of places until I finally found one in a forest clearing. This'll bring you home safely." 

With a delighted smile, Sipp took the clover. Then he cast a pleading look at Severus. "Please, tell me your wish now! I give my word of honour as a Leprechaun that I won't fulfil your wish until I've cleaned up the other mess. I swear on my forefather's graves!" 

Sceptically, Severus scrutinized the Leprechaun. He didn't really trust Sipp to keep his word. But if he told his wish now, he probably wouldn't have to see the Leprechaun ever again. Otherwise, Sipp would certainly turn up at Hogwarts later, and Merlin knew what could happen then. Severus wanted to get this over with. And he was hoping that this wish was one that Sipp wouldn't try to pervert. 

"Oh well, if you insist," he said. "I wish that you make Celia's dream come true and turn her into a genuine Golden Eagle." From the corner of his eye, he could see Celia's eyes widen in shock and disbelief. 

Sipp cast a questioning gaze at Celia, who immediately nodded eagerly. 

"And I warn you, don't pull any foul tricks!" Severus added in his sternest voice. "You called Celia your friend, and friends don't double-cross each other. Also, she managed to catch you once; she'll certainly manage to hunt you down again. If you ruffle her feathers, she might actually eat you the next time you meet." 

"Okay, okay, your wish is my command! Don't worry, I won't scam Celia. I like her way too much for that." 

"Good," Severus said, confident that this wish wouldn't cause another disaster, at least not for him. 

"By the way, I suppose you might want this back." He reached into his cloak, pulling out Sipp's handkerchief. 

"Hah, I knew that was you!" Sipp exclaimed triumphantly, snatching the green cloth from Severus' fingers. "Stealing from me... without asking... You wizards have no respect --" 

"Yeah, sorry for that," Severus interrupted the Leprechaun who was starting to get carried away with another agitated speech about how bad humans, especially wizards, were. He just wanted to make sure Sipp had no reason at all to turn up at Hogwarts. 

Celia was still staring at Severus, incredulity written all over her face. 

"Why did you do this?" she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "Why do you give up your wish to someone you don't even know?" 

"Well, I've had enough bad experiences with the way Sipp fulfils wishes. He seems to like you good enough, so I hope you are luckier." Severus shrugged his shoulders. "It's one less worry for me. And if he should screw up again, then it's your problem, not mine." 

Celia put her hands over her mouth, deeply moved. At a loss for words, she pulled Severus in a tight hug. Tears of joy ran over her cheeks and wetted Severus' cloak while she was mumbling words of gratitude into the fabric. Awkwardly, he endured her gratefulness for a minute, then slowly pushed her away from him. 

"I'm glad to have been of help, but I must go now. I wish you a happy life!" And with these words, he Disapparated. 

* * *

Before Severus had left the eyrie, he had briefly wondered whether he would be able to Apparate back to Hogwarts directly. It turned out that he was - obviously, Dumbledore hadn't been able to restore the Anti-Apparition enchantments. 

He returned to the top of the Astronomy Tower, wand drawn and ready to re-join the battle. But there was no one fighting anymore. The dead bodies of Minerva McGonagall and Quirinus Quirrell lay in front of the door leading to the spiral staircase. Inside the tower, he found the underage students who had been with them, scattered over the length of the stairs, all dead. The exit downstairs was still magically sealed shut. 

Severus supposed that once the Apparition barrier was down, the Death Eaters had just given up on the door and Apparated to the tower top. His imagination provided him with a fighting scene in which the professors fiercely defended the upper entrance to the tower, trying to protect the students who sought refuge inside, but ultimately failed. He hoped that the older students who were capable of Apparating had used the opportunity to get away from Hogwarts as far as possible. 

For a while, Severus wandered aimlessly about the deserted remains of the castle. Dumbledore's fears had come true - they had lost. Dead students and staff members lay everywhere, interspersed with many dead Death Eaters. The Dark Lord hadn't just conquered Hogwarts, he had destroyed it. Most of the castle lay in ruins. Towers had collapsed, ceilings had caved in, and staircases had been blasted apart. Some of the stronger walls were still standing, but there was nothing left they could support. Severus suspected many more dead victims buried under the rubble. 

In order to enter the Great Hall, he had to climb over a giant dead serpent lying coiled in the entrance hall - the basilisk that the Dark Lord had released and Quirrell had killed. The Great Hall itself was an open space now - the ceiling was gone, the floating candles lay scattered on the floor, and the colourful stained glass windows with the emblems of the four houses had been smashed to smithereens. The House tables had been moved to the sides, and there was a circle completely free of any debris right in the middle. In its centre, he found Albus Dumbledore lying flat on his back, arms clutched to his chest, and his half-moon spectacles sitting lopsided on his crooked nose. This must have been the place of the showdown, the duel between the most powerful wizards of all time - where Dumbledore had been defeated by the Dark Lord. 

Severus gazed at the inert face of the old wizard for a long time before he closed the unseeing blue eyes and adjusted the glasses. Despite the destruction and death all around, despite the hopeless situation, the Headmaster's face wore a sanguine expression. It seemed as if Dumbledore had been confident until the very end that Severus would succeed in his mission. 

When he pulled himself together and turned to leave the Great Hall, darkness had already fallen. The starry sky above him wasn't a display of the enchanted ceiling anymore, it was the real sky. Severus Apparated into the dungeons. They were sturdy, hewn into the living rock, and while the stairs leading down were blocked by debris, the dungeons themselves were more or less undamaged. He checked the Slytherin common room first - as suspected, it was untouched, and as deserted as the rest of the castle. 

Next on his way was his office. He hesitated a moment before opening the door - he wasn't sure if he could face Hermione Granger's dead, mutilated body in there. When he finally entered the room, he found that she wasn't there. He was a bit surprised about how relieved he felt. Severus didn't doubt that Mulciber had said the truth about killing her, but apparently he had taken her somewhere else first. 

However, the office had been demolished thoroughly. The shelves lining the walls were almost completely emptied. The glass jars once standing there had been smashed on the floor. Their contents had mixed to a slimy mass that bubbled and hissed in some places. The ingredients cupboard had been blasted apart. Books and rolls of parchment, even very old and irreplaceable ones, had been torn to pieces or burnt. His desk was overturned. Trapped under the table top, Severus discovered the notebook with his minutes about Longbottom's Potion. It was partially soaked in slime and completely black. It must have been burnt by a very Dark curse, because he wasn't able to restore it with any spell he could think of. 

For a moment, despair almost overwhelmed him. The recipe for this potion was the only good thing that had come from this mess, and now it was gone like everything else. But at least he had skimmed through his notes earlier and remembered important details. And he was this school's Potions Master for a reason. With a bit of research, he should be able to reproduce the crystallisation process. His alter ego had done it before, after all. 

With the resolution to start the research as soon as possible, he left his study and went to his private quarters. The protective spells guarding the door were still in place. Either the Death Eaters hadn't managed to break through them, or they hadn't tried in the first place - learning from Granger where Severus had gone had made it unnecessary for Mulciber to search for him here. 

Severus strode over to his bed and lay down. While he was wondering how long it would take until everything was back to normal, he fell in a fitful, restless slumber. From time to time he woke up with the panicky thought that Sipp might have tricked him again, and that everything would stay as it was. And that each person he ever cared for would be dead forever. 

* * *

A bright morning was dawning when Severus woke up again. He lay flat on his stomach, his arm directly in front of his eyes. Startled, he stared at the pallid skin that bore no sign of the Dark Mark. Just when a lump of panic started to rise in his throat, he realized that it was his right arm he was looking at. Quickly, he turned around and took a look at his left arm. And there it was - the picture of a skull and a long winding snake coming out of its mouth. 

He had never been happier to see the Dark Mark on his skin. After all, it meant that Sipp had kept his word and everything should be back to how it used to be. 

Severus got up and dressed. Entering his study, he noted with satisfaction that the room was as tidy as ever. No broken jars, no torn books, no smashed window. His desk was sitting at the back wall, all legs still attached. On the desk, he found a piece of parchment. After brewing the Mandrake Restorative Draught, Hermione Granger had left him a note, listing ingredients she had used up. 

Sitting down at his desk, Severus pulled a new notebook out of a drawer and began to scribble furiously. He jotted down everything he could remember of his notes about Longbottom's Potion bevor he could forget anything. 

When he was finished, he took a piece of parchment and wrote a message. Once more, Severus informed Neville Longbottom that he had earned himself a detention for Petrifying his classmates and that he was to show up in the Potions classroom in the afternoon in order to serve said detention. 

The prospect of research work for not one but two potions projects promised an interesting, welcome diversion from teaching Potions to mostly inept students and keeping an eye on a Dark Lord who was lying low to avoid incurring the Ministry's attention. 

In a quite elated mood he climbed the stairs from the dungeons to the ground floor, heading for breakfast. Filled with zest and working out a project plan in his mind, he entered the Great Hall. When he stepped through the wide open doors, he almost collided with a group of three students who were about to leave the hall. 

It was the bothersome trio - Potter, Weasley, and Granger. Potter was actively avoiding his gaze when he tried to shuffle past him, and Severus didn't acknowledge his presence at all. Instead, he directed his gaze at the girl with the frizzy hair. 

"Miss Granger," he began, slightly raising his voice to drown out the background murmur of hundreds of students in the filled Great Hall. Unaware of any wrongdoings, Hermione Granger looked up at him expectantly and without any sign of fear. Nothing reminded him of the lonely, insecure Hermione of the other reality. 

"At the weekend, you proved quite adept at making a complicated potion that clearly exceeded the abilities of a fifth year student, even the abilities of the other Hogwarts professors. You saved your classmates -- and myself -- and I think this merits fifty points for Gryffindor." 

Three pairs of eyes stared at him, probably wondering if he lost his marbles. 

"Dismissed!" he snapped, and the trio quickly set off, not wanting to give him an excuse to deduct the points again. 

Breakfast in the Great Hall was much different from his last meals. Students were chatting animatedly and laughing with each other, and the professors didn't look deadly tired and being worn down by their sorrows anymore. 

Pomona Sprout sat down right next to him, and remembering Granger's list of used up potions ingredients, Severus decided he could start with restocking his store cupboard immediately. When Sprout was finished with her breakfast, he joined her on her walk to the greenhouses in order to collect a selection of herbs and fungi. 

Sprout was delighted to hear that her Mandrakes were thriving in the Forbidden Forest. When they crossed the lawn in front of the castle, a shadow flitted over the grass. Severus gazed upwards, looking for what had caused it. A Golden Eagle was circling high up in the sky above Hogwarts. 

Sprout followed his gaze and said dreamily, "Must be wonderful to be able to spread your wings and fly, without needing a broom or anything." 

"Yes, I suppose so," Severus agreed with her. "I hope she's happy up there." 

Puzzled, Sprout asked, "How do you know it's a she?" 

He shrugged his shoulders. "Let's say, I've got my sources," Severus said cryptically. He didn't give away anything more while his eyes followed the eagle until she disappeared on the horizon. 

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> This story is un-betaed. Any volunteers?


End file.
